I have just been advised by my lender that my Standish lawyer is not on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. How can I be certain if this is indeed the case?

The best course of action for you to take is to contact your Standish conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a Standish conveyancing firm that is on the conveyancing panel for your lender.

We are about to sign contracts for a property in Standish. We have hit a snag. The loan offer with Clydesdale expires on 24/6/2024 but the owners are putting forward a completion date of 26/6/2024. Can one extend the mortgage offer?

The best person to address this concern is your solicitors who will hopefully calculate if they corresponding with the mortgage broker, vendor’s lawyers, estate agents or indeed all three given what has gone on in your conveyancing as of today.

We had selected conveyancing lawyers located in Standish on the Santander solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a further amount for dealing with the Santander mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Santander?

Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your solicitor can levy a fee for this. This fee is not dictated by Santander but by your Standish lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Santander panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but plenty of practices incorporate it on their overall fee.

How can we know in advance if a Standish conveyancing solicitor on the Barclays panel is any good?

When it comes to conveyancing in Standish obtaining recommendations is a good start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always recommend that you speak with the lawyer conducting your transaction.

After what seems like an age I have had an offer on a flat in Standish agreed to, the vendors do however have an associated purchase. The owners have offered on a flat, however it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other flats booked. I have selected a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Standish. What should be my next step? When do I get the mortgage application with HSBC started?

It is understandable to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (home loan application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then survey, Standish conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you should ensure that your conveyancer is on the HSBC approved list. Concerning the next stages this very much dictated by the circumstances of your transaction, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. In a hot market some home buyers would apply for the mortgage with HSBC and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their conveyancer to press on with searches.

My husband and I are one month into a leasehold purchase having been directed to solicitors by the estate agent to perform conveyancing in Standish. We are not happy. Could you help me find new lawyers?

A lawyer would have to be really poor to suggest diss instructing them. Has your mortgage been sent? If so you must advise them of the new contact details and get the loan are re-issued. The solicitor ideally should be on the lenders panel to avoid escalating costs and delays. So that should be your starting point. Our find a solicitor tool can assist you in finding a bank approved solicitor for your home move in Standish

I work for a reputable estate agency in Standish where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Standish conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Standish - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? For many Standish leaseholds the outlay for major works are not wrapped into the service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Standish ask tenants to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for major repairs or maintenance. Does the lease have more than 80 years left?