I am one month into the sale of my home in Merton Park and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are swapping solicitor. The excuse is that the bank will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major lender only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Merton Park ?

Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for over 25 years.

Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.

Why do I have to pay up front for my conveyancing in Merton Park?

Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Merton Park your lawyer will request that you to provide them with monies to cover the search fees. Generally this is asked for to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. When the deposit is as part of the purchase price then this should be asked for immediately ahead of exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is due should be transferred a couple of days ahead of the day of completion.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Merton Park?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Merton Park. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Merton Park before retaining lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor advised that some lenders may not grant a mortgage on this type of home.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Nationwide. If you e-mail us we can investigate further with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Merton Park. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

I own a leasehold house in Merton Park. Conveyancing and mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Merton Park who previously acted has long since retired. Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Merton Park conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Merton Park - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

The answer will be useful as a) areas could cause problems for the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will want to know about it How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? What restrictions exist in the Merton Park Lease?