My wife and I are purchasing a 1 bedroom apartment in Penn with a mortgage. We like our Penn lawyer, but the lender says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or keep our Penn as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Penn conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The lender mentioned the home loan came with free conveyancing. Does this mean I have to appoint their panel conveyancer as I would prefer to appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Penn?

Do check but the the likelihood is that give you one of their panel solicitors should you accept the "fee-free" deal. Contact the mortgage company to check if they allow a monetary alternative. Some banks have previously offered a £250 cashback as an alternative in which case that money can go towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor in Penn.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Penn. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Penn

There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Please supply a car parking plan.

I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Penn. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the service charge as you normally would because all ground rent and maintenance payments will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Penn Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

On the whole the outlay for major works are not included within service charges, although there some managing agents in Penn ask leaseholders to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. This information is useful as a) areas may cause problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have full disclosure The best form of lease arrangement is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the leaseholders benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often employed where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders.

Finally our conveyancing in Penn is set to complete this Friday, but the couple I am buying off wishes to move out the next day at noon. Can I agree to this?

It is not possible to complete on a Saturday due to the bank systems aren't operational.