My wife and I are purchasing a 1 bedroom flat in Staffordshire with a mortgage. We have a Staffordshire conveyancer, but the lender advise she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have no choice but to use one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or retain our Staffordshire conveyancing practitioner as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. This feels very unfair; are we not able to demand that the bank use our Staffordshire solicitor ?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms 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 Staffordshire conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The lender mentioned the home loan came with free conveyancing. Is the implication that I have to appoint their panel conveyancer as I would prefer to instruct a Staffordshire based conveyancing firm?

You should check but the chances are that allocate you one of their panel conveyancers should you take up the "fee-free" incentive. Speak to the mortgage company and ask if they offer you a monetary alternative. Some banks have previously offered a £250 cashback as a further option in which case that money can go towards the cost for your conveyancing solicitor near Staffordshire.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my house are lost. The lawyers who dealt with the conveyancing in Staffordshire 5 years ago are no longer around. What are my next steps?

You no longer need to hold title official documentation to prove you own the land or premises, as the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.

Hoping to buy a property located in Staffordshire and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Staffordshire. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Staffordshire area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Staffordshire. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Staffordshire where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Staffordshire conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is 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 needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 purchaser.

I acquired a garden flat in Staffordshire, conveyancing was carried out 5 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding properties in Staffordshire with over 90 years remaining are worth £171,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2100

With just 79 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £7,600 and £8,800 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.