I am in the process of selling my ground floor flat in Stourbridge and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are changing their property lawyer. The excuse is that the lender will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major lender only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Stourbridge ?

UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.

Banks blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

We are selling our property in Stourbridge and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built on contaminated land. Any local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers used a nationwide conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Stourbridge. We have lived in Stourbridge for 4 years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to get clarification that the buyers are looking for.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm already. What do they say? You must check with 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 life insurance to cover that same ailment)

Me and my brother purchased a semi-detached Edwardian house in Stourbridge. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and TSB. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Stourbridge and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.

I am looking for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one near me in Stourbridge I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Stourbridge for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.

How does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my business offices in Stourbridge and how can your lawyers assist?

The particular law that you refer to affords security of tenure to business lessees, giving them the a statutory right to apply to court for a continuation of occupancy at the end of the lease term. There are certain specified grounds that a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are complex. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Stourbridge is one of our many locations in which our lawyers have offices