My wife and I are looking to buy a house in Sandbach and have appointed a Sandbach conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Skipton Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Sandbach lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers 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 solicitor 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Sandbach lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

Are the Sandbach conveyancing solicitors identified as being on the Santander conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by Santander?

Sandbach conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Santander conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Santander directly.

I am buying a new build apartment in Sandbach. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Sandbach

If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company?

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Sandbach I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Sandbach for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.

I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for purchase conveyancing in Sandbach. I've stumble upon a site which seems to have the ideal offering If there is a chance to get all formalities done via phone that would be ideal. Should I be wary? What are the potential pitfalls?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?