My wife and I are hoping to purchase a house in Stamford Bridge and have instructed a Stamford Bridge conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Nottingham Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Stamford Bridge solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard 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 mortgage company 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 bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Stamford Bridge lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

We are buying our first home. The conveyancer has e-mailedto check if we would like to take out additional conveyancing searches. We are really unsure what's recommended for conveyancing in Stamford Bridge

The scope of Stamford Bridge conveyancing searches should be dictated entirely on the premises, the location, the possibility of any of these risks, your familiarity of the locality and risks, your overall attitude to risk. What matters is that you properly appreciate what information the searches could provide. You may then make a decision if you consider that you need that search. Where you are uncertain, ask the lawyer to explain.

We are planning to purchase with Loughborough BS. I visited 3 or 4 local companies yet am unable to find a Stamford Bridge conveyancing firm on the Loughborough BS panel. Could you help?

Please do take advantage of the find a lender approved solicitor tool on this site. Pick the building society and type Stamford Bridge or your preferred area and you will discover a number of lawyer based in Stamford Bridge or by proximity to you.

When it comes to mortgage companies such as Bank of Ireland, do Stamford Bridge lawyers face an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are not aware of any bank fees to be on their panel, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

We have agreed to purchase a house in Stamford Bridge. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Bank of Ireland have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?

Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Bank of Ireland your lawyer must follow the formal instructions set out in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Bank of Ireland. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook includes minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Bank of Ireland where a lease does not meet these conditions. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not limited to Stamford Bridge.

I have instructed a Stamford Bridge conveyancing practitioner having checked that they are on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Lloyds will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Lloyds will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Stamford Bridge postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Lloyds, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Stamford Bridge.

Last December I purchased a leasehold property in Stamford Bridge. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Leasehold Conveyancing in Stamford Bridge - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

This information is helpful as a) areas could cause problems in the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to know about it On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, although some managing agents in Stamford Bridge require tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for major works. Most Stamford Bridge leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the building set on behalf of the landlord. Should you purchase the property you will have to pay this contribution, usually quarterly during the year. This can be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant sum, say around £25-£75 but you should to enquire as sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds.