My conveyancer has uncovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in Sands End. The seller’s lawyers have put forward title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our conveyancer has advised that he must check that the lender is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the lender?

Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the mortgage company does not mean to say that the property will meet their requirements for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. You and the lender are the client. These conveyancing instructions must be adhered to.

My husband and I are hoping to buy a purpose built apartment in Sands End with a residential mortgage from National Westminster Bank.We have a Sands End conveyancing practitioner but National Westminster Bank says he's not listed on their approved list of member firms. It seems we have little choice but to instruct a National Westminster Bank panel solicitor or keep our high street solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that National Westminster Bank use our lawyer?

No, not really. The home loan offered to you is subject to its various provisions, one of which will be that solicitors will be on the National Westminster Bank approved list. Until recently, most mortgage companies had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for National Westminster Bank

is it true that all Sands End solicitor practices on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the SRA. Many mortgage companies do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be overseen by the CLC.

Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Nationwide. Sands End conveyancing practitioners have been chosen. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Nationwide?

There is no definitive answer here. Have Nationwide completed the valuation? Have you informed Nationwide as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Sands End. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an advanced payment of £225. Soon after, the conveyancer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Nationwide panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I am purchasing a house and the conveyancer has raised the issue of Chancel Repair to which the house may be liable because it falls into the area of such a church. She has recommended insurance. Is this strictly appropriate for conveyancing in Sands End

Unless a previous acquisition of the premises took place after 12 October 2013 you may take it that solicitors carrying out conveyancing in Sands End to continue to advocate a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.

I work for a busy estate agency in Sands End where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Sands End conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Sands End conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to assess the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Sands End flat is 29 Sisters Avenue in April 2013. The Tribunal camme to the conclusion that the entire freehold should be transferred by the landlord to the nominee purchaser. The price to be paid was the sum of £53,527. This had been arrived at by applying a deferment rate of 5.25% to the freehold reversion and relativity of 95.4% to the leasehold values. This case related to 4 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 85.78 years.