My partner and I are acquiring a flat in Yarmouth. My Solicitor is not on the mortgage company solicitor panel. Am I still permitted to retain my Yarmouth conveyancing solicitor even though they are excluded from the mortgage company list of approved lawyers?

You have a number of options open to you here

• Carry on with your existing Yarmouth solicitor but your bank will undoubtedly retain a conveyancing practitioner from their conveyancing panel. The net result is additional fees and probable interruption.
• Get a fresh conveyancing practitioner to act in the purchase, making sure they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel.
• Convince your lawyer to pull out all the stops to get accepted on the mortgage company panel of solicitors

Our lawyer has uncovered a a problem with the lease for the property we are buying in Yarmouth. The seller’s lawyers have offered defective title insurance as a solution. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our solicitor says that he must ensure that the mortgage company is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company ?

The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the bank are the client. Your lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your property lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Yarmouth?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Yarmouth. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £245,000 and identified one near me in Yarmouth I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Yarmouth for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.

Me and mypartner and I are searching for a responsive conveyancing solicitor in Yarmouth to purchase a flat. I really don't want to get ripped off and there's various Yarmouth conveyancing solicitors out there...who do I opt for?

The best tip when choosing a Yarmouth conveyancer is take references from family or trusted professionals. Almost everyone has used a conveyancing solicitor at some point. Do utilise our comparison tool for Yarmouth conveyancing quotes