My husband and I are planning to acquire a house in Trowbridge Estate and have instructed a Trowbridge Estate conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Aldermore have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Trowbridge Estate conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?

If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is usual 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 property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Trowbridge Estate lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

I used Action Conveyancing a few years past for my conveyancing in Trowbridge Estate. I now require my file but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Trowbridge Estate of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

What does commercial conveyancing in Trowbridge Estate cover?

Commercial conveyancing in Trowbridge Estate covers a broad range of advice, provided by qualified solicitors, relating to business property. By way of example, this type of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more commonly, the assignment of existing leases or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of tenancies.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Trowbridge Estate both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Trowbridge Estate is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. For most buyers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Trowbridge Estate conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Trowbridge Estate Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

It would be a good idea to find out if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example it is reasonably common in Trowbridge Estate leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Trowbridge Estate. If you love the propertyin Trowbridge Estate yet your dog is not allowed to move with you then you will be faced hard choice. The answer will be useful as a) areas can cause problems for the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will want to have all the details How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?

How much experience do your Trowbridge Estate conveyancing solicitors have with Help To Buy, Shared Equity and similar schemes?

Trowbridge Estate conveyancing lawyers help thousands of people move home every year and helped lots of clients through the Help To Buy scheme. The chances are that whatever makes your case unique Trowbridge Estate conveyancers have worked on recent similar matters.