My partner and I are looking to buy a flat in Redruth and are in fact using a Redruth conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Accord Mortgages Ltd have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Redruth lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of 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 bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Redruth solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

We were just about to exchange contracts for a freehold house in Redruth. We have hit a snag. Our mortgage offer with The Royal Bank of Scotland runs out on 23/1/2024 but the sellers are suggesting a completion date of 25/1/2024. Is it possible to extend the mortgage offer?

The person best placed to address this question is your solicitors who should determine whether he or she is corresponding with the mortgage company, owner’s representatives, property agents or possibly all parties based on the circumstances your transaction as of today.

We previously selected solicitors locally in Redruth on the Virgin Money solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a further sum for the legal aspects of the Virgin Money mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Virgin Money?

Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitor is entitled to levy a fee for this. This fee is not set by Virgin Money but by your Redruth conveyancing practitioner. Some firms on the Virgin Money panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.

We are getting a further advance on our home loan from Kent Reliance as we wish to carry out a loft conversion to our property in Redruth. Do we need to appoint a bricks and mortar Redruth solicitor on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

Kent Reliance do not ordinarily instruct firms on their conveyancing panel to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.

I had a mortgage agreed in principle with Nottingham. Redruth conveyancing lawyers are appointed. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Nottingham?

Some lenders take longer than others. Have Nottingham done the survey? Have you advised Nottingham as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Nottingham conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.

I own a leasehold flat in Redruth. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Redruth who previously acted has now retired. Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Redruth conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I bought a 1st floor flat in Redruth, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2006. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Redruth with a long lease are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2091

You have 68 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Our conveyancer in Redruth has identified a a legal deficiency with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Redruth. The seller’s lawyers have put forward defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our lawyer says that as he is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel he must check that the lender is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is the lender?

The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the mortgage company are the client. A precondition to being on the lender approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that the mortgage company can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected . Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.