We were just about to sign contracts for a ground floor flat in Poringland. We encountered a stumbling block. The loan offer with The Royal Bank of Scotland expires on 9/3/2026 but the vendors are insisting on a completion date of 11/3/2026. Is it possible to prolong the mortgage offer?

The best person to address this concern is your lawyer who will assess whether they corresponding with the mortgage broker, seller’s conveyancers, estate agents or indeed all three based on the history of your transaction to date.

I have an AIP. The lender mentioned the mortgage came with free conveyancing. Is the implication that I have to appoint their panel conveyancer as I would much rather appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Poringland?

Do check but the the probability is that appoint one of their panel conveyancers if you want the "fee-free" offer. Call the mortgage company to determine if they offer you a cash alternative. Some mortgage companies have previously offered a £250 cashback as a further option in which case that money can go towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor in Poringland.

When it comes to lenders such as Virgin Money, do Poringland solicitors incur a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are unaware of any lender fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

is it true that all Poringland conveyancing solicitors on the Lloyds conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Lloyds approved list of solicitors they would need to be overseen by the SRA. Many lenders do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the firms would be governed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Poringland. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £175. A couple of days later, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me to say that they were not on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Kent Reliance panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I am 14 days into a residential purchase having been referred to solicitors by the local agent to carry out the conveyancing in Poringland. I am not happy. Can you help me find new lawyers?

A solicitor would have to be very bad to suggest diss instructing them. Has your loan offer been generated? If so you need to inform them of the new contact details and ensure the loan are re-issued. Your new solicitor ideally should be on the banks approved list to avoid supplemental charges and delays. That should be your first question of the new solicitors. Our find a solicitor tool can assist you in finding a lender approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Poringland

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Poringland where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Poringland conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Poringland, conveyancing having been completed 6 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Poringland with an extended lease are worth £202,000. The ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2082

You have 56 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £29,500 and £34,000 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.