My fiance and I are looking to buy a house in Richmond Upon Thames and have instructed a Richmond Upon Thames conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Birmingham Midshires have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Richmond Upon Thames lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. 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 Accreditation 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 solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Richmond Upon Thames solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

I have given 8 weeks notice to my existing landlord and must leave my let out flat in Richmond Upon Thames by 14/1/2026. Conveyancing for my house purchase is progressing. How realistic is it to complete in three weeks as don't want to have to move into temporary accommodation?

The normal practice is not to give notice for your tenancy unless your lawyer suggests that you should. Assuming that you have not previously done so, speak to your conveyancer and ask them to they seek the assistance the sellers side, try to get a realistic time scale from them that everyone will work towards

I require expedited conveyancing in Richmond Upon Thames as I am faced with an ultimatum to exchange contracts in less than one month. A mortgage is not required. Is it possible to decline from having conveyancing searches to save money and time?

As you are not taking a home loan you have the choice not to do searches although no law firm would suggest that you don't. With lots of history conveyancing in Richmond Upon Thames the following are examples of what can show up and adversely affect future mortgageability: Refused Planning Applications, Overdue Fees, Outstanding Grants, Railway Schemes,...

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Richmond Upon Thames I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Richmond Upon Thames for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.

Are there frequently found deficiencies that you witness in leases for Richmond Upon Thames properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Richmond Upon Thames is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Richmond Upon Thames, conveyancing was carried out 5 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar properties in Richmond Upon Thames with an extended lease are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2084

With just 59 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.