I am thinking of mortgaging my apartment in Torpoint, does my lawyer need to be on the Kent Reliance Conveyancing panel?

In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel, but Kent Reliance would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.

We had selected solicitors with offices in Torpoint on the Santander solicitor panel. They have just billed me a supplemental amount for the legal aspects of the Santander mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Santander?

As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your lawyer may levy a fee for this. This fee is not set by Santander but by your Torpoint property lawyer. Some firms on the Santander panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee but some practices include it on their overall fee.

Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Torpoint. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?

Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.

I am selling my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in November 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Nottingham are being a right pain. The Torpoint solicitor who is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Nottingham are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Nottingham have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Nottingham have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Nottingham may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Torpoint in advance of appointing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may not give a loan on this type of property.

It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different instructions from Halifax. If you e-mail us we can check with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Torpoint. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Torpoint to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Torpoint. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. However, 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 be sure 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).

I invested in buying a basement flat in Torpoint, conveyancing formalities finalised 7 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Torpoint with an extended lease are worth £175,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2083

You have 58 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £23,800 and £27,400 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

I yesterday discovered that one of the directors of the law firm undertaking the purchase conveyancing in Torpoint is related to the owners that we are buying from. Is this acceptable?

Provided no conflict arises this is permitted. Where you are needing a home loan then the bank may have a say as many banks have specific requirements on this. For example for Nationwide Building Society as of 30/9/2025, the requirements read as follows :