I am in the process of selling my ground floor flat in Romiley and the EA has just called to say that the buyers are swapping conveyancer. The reason given is that the bank will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a major mortgage company only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Romiley ?

Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for decades.

Mortgage companies blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.

We were just about to sign contracts for a semi detached house in Romiley. We have hit a problem. Our mortgage offer with Nationwide Building Society runs out on 11/9/2025 but the owners are putting forward a completion date of 15/9/2025. Is it possible to extend the mortgage expiry date?

The person best placed to deal with your question is your conveyancer who should assess if they better off negotiating with the lender, seller’s lawyers, property agents or conceivably all three based on what has gone on in your transaction to date.

Do commercial conveyancing searches reveal proposed roadworks that could affect a commercial estate in Romiley?

Many commercial conveyancing solicitors in Romiley will conduct a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers invest in investigating accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Romiley. The search result sets out definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Romiley.

For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Romiley it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. The absence of identifying developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately may cause delays to Romiley commercial conveyancing deals as well as pose a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not conducted for residential conveyancing in Romiley.

I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing lawyer in Romiley for my home move. Can I see a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?

Members of the public can review documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations stemming from inquisitions commenced on or after 1 January 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's record, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For non-uk callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may recorded telephone calls for training reasons.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Romiley from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Romiley can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers’ lawyers.
Some Romiley leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Romiley conveyancing deal. Where a new share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later. If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved. Many freeholders or managing agents in Romiley levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Romiley.

I am the registered owner of a garden flat in Romiley, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Romiley with an extended lease are worth £176,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2105

You have 80 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.