I am in the process of selling my ground floor flat in Rotherham and the estate agent has just called to say that the purchasers are changing their conveyancer. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a big named lender only work with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Rotherham ?

Mortgage companies 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 worked with them for decades.

Lending institutions attribute this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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 buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

I am purchasing a house and the conveyancer has identified Chancel Repair to which the house may be liable given it’s proximity to the area of such a church. He has mentioned insurance. Is this really appropriate for conveyancing in Rotherham

Unless a prior purchase of the house completed after 12 October 2013 you may assume that solicitors conducting conveyancing in Rotherham to continue to advocate a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.

I have a renovated Edwardian property in Rotherham. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Skipton Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Rotherham and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the work.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Rotherham. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Rotherham Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

If a Rotherham lease has less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Rotherhamlease extensions you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the residence for two years in order to be legally able to extend the lease. The majority of Rotherham leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block invoiced on behalf of the landlord. If you acquire the flat you will have to meet this charge, usually quarterly accross the year. This may differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, normally this is not a large figure, say about £50-£100 but you need to check it because occasionally it could be surprisingly expensive. This question is important as a) areas could cause problems for the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to know about it

Do online conveyancing companies do everything a local Rotherham solicitor does or must I employ a solicitor for the final stages for my conveyancing in Rotherham?

Where you instruct an online conveyancer they will undertake all the work your Rotherham conveyancer will cover.