Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor in South Wimbledon is not listed on my bank's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the quality of her work?

That would more than likely be a wrong assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator revealed that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should contact the South Wimbledon conveyancing practice and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.

I am downsizing from our home in South Wimbledon and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. Any high street South Wimbledon conveyancer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the buyers instructed a web based conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in South Wimbledon. Having lived in South Wimbledon for 4 years we know that this is a non issue. Do we contact our local Authority to seek clarification that there is no issue.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. What do they say? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same ailment)

I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in South Wimbledon prior to instructing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor advised that some lenders tend refuse to give a loan on a flying freehold property.

It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you e-mail us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in South Wimbledon. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

After months of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in South Wimbledon. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a South Wimbledon conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a South Wimbledon premises is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 62.94 years.

What are the common deficiencies that you see in leases for South Wimbledon properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in South Wimbledon. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

My 20yr old son is about to join the property ladder, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. When the seller agreed the offer on the house we rang the mortgage institution to issue the formal offer. I was very surprised to hear that mortgage lenders do not accept all lawyer, they have to be on a list, is this right?

Lenders normally restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing practices on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that banks have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any South Wimbledon solicitor on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Unlikely.