My fiance and I are looking to purchase a property in Twyford and are in fact using a Twyford conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Bank of Scotland have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Twyford conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor 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 Twyford lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

Is there a reason why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Twyford costs more?

Twyford leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving relevant notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.

Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Twyford before appointing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. My surveyor advised that some banks may not give a loan on a flying freehold home.

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

My husband and I are a couple of weeks into a leasehold purchase having been directed to conveyancers by the high street agent to carry out the conveyancing in Twyford. I am not happy. Can you you assist me in finding new lawyers?

A conveyancer would have to be very bad in order to consider replacing them. Has your loan offer been generated? In the event that it has you must advise them of the new lawyer and ensure the mortgage documents are re-issued. The solicitor ideally should be on the banks approved list to avoid escalating expenses and delays. So that should be your starting point. Our find a solicitor tool can help you find a bank approved solicitor for your conveyancing in Twyford

Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Twyford basement flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Twyford conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Twyford do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the tenancy agreement.

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

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? What is the yearly maintenance fee and ground rent?