My husband and I are planning to buy a flat in Par and have instructed a Par conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Birmingham Midshires have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Par solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?

If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Par lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

We see that you have a search directory listing solicitors on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Do companies pay you a referral fee if I retain them for our own conveyancing in Par?

We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Par.

What does commercial conveyancing in Par cover?

Par conveyancing for business premises incorporates a broad array of guidance, provided by qualified solicitors, relating to business premises. For example, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more usually, the transfer of existing business tenancies or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of leases.

My father-in-law has encouraged me to appoint his conveyancing solicitors in Par. Should I use them?

No doubt it’s preferable to choose a conveyancing solicitor is to get referrals from friends or family who have previously instructed the solicitor that you are considering.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Par what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Par is not unique. Most leases are drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts. Insurance obligations

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Britannia all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Par, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Par with an extended lease are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease terminates on 21st October 2094

With only 69 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.