My husband and I are looking to purchase a property in Shenstone and are in fact using a Shenstone conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. HSBC Bank have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Shenstone lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for 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 Accreditation 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Shenstone solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

I have recentlybeen informed that Action Conveyancing have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Shenstone for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 12 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest way to see if the property is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Shenstone conveyancing specialists.

I am 18 days into a leasehold purchase having been directed to a firm by the selling agent to execute conveyancing in Shenstone. I am am very frustrated with the level of service. Could you help me find new conveyancers?

A lawyer would have to be really poor to suggest replacing them. Has your mortgage offer been issued? In the event that it has you will need to advise them of the new solicitor and ensure the loan are issued to the new lawyers. Your solicitor ideally should be on the lenders panel to avoid supplemental costs and delays. So that should be your first question of the new lawyers. The search tool should assist you in finding a lender approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Shenstone

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Shenstone. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, however I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the invoice as normal as all rents and service invoices should be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am the registered owner of a 2 bed flat in Shenstone, conveyancing was carried out in 2004. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Shenstone with a long lease are worth £197,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2079

With 54 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £32,300 and £37,400 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

My partner and I are first time buyers just having agreed a price on a property in Shenstone, and are now looking to get solicitors appointed. I have used the numerous comparison tools and the results are from all across the the UK. Is it important to have a Shenstone conveyancing practitioner local to the prospective property? I am fine to do everything electronically, but I am thinking at some point we will need to physically go into the lawyer's office to sign contracts?

Usually there is no requirement to physically visit the office of your solicitor, they can send any relevant contracts to you, which you can sign and send back. Many buyers and sellers choose to use a locally based solicitor, but it is not a prerequisite for conveyancing in Shenstone.