We are buying a 3 bedroom flat in Thames View with a mortgage. We like our Thames View lawyer, but the lender says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or retain our Thames View conveyancer and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. We consider that this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. Your mortgage offer 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 Thames View conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

As someone clueless as to conveyancing in Thames View what is the number one tip you can impart for the home moving process in Thames View

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Thames View or throughout England and Wales is often a confrontational process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is lots of opportunity for conflict between you and others involved in the legal transfer of property. For instance, the vendor, selling agent and even potentially the bank. Appointing a lawyer for your conveyancing in Thames View an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY person in the transaction whose responsibility is to protect your legal interests and to protect you.

There is a distinct ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone has to be blamed for the process taking so long. You must always trust your solicitor above the other players when it comes to the legal transfer of property.

Please explain the implications if my solicitor is expelled from the Kent Reliance Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Thames View?

First, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.

I have been told that property searches are the main cause of delay in Thames View conveyancing transactions. Is this right?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the most frequent causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Searches are not likely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Thames View.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Thames View where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Thames View conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

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

Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to assess the price.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Thames View property is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 61.36 years.