I am nearing exchange of contracts for my flat in Ardleigh Green and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the buyers are swapping property lawyer. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only work with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Ardleigh Green ?

Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.

Lenders point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

We expect to receive a OIP from Principality this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Principality recommend any Ardleigh Green solicitors on the Principality conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?

You will need to appoint Ardleigh Green solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Principality conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Principality through the process.

I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Ardleigh Green. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £200. A couple of days later, the solicitor called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I've read lots of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Ardleigh Green solicitor - who is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?

Yorkshire BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Yorkshire BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Ardleigh Green surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Ardleigh Green. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Ardleigh Green

Please supply a car parking plan. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided.

We're first time buyers - had an offer accepted, but the agent told us that the vendor will only go ahead if we use their recommended conveyancers as they need an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a high street conveyancer with experience of conveyancing in Ardleigh Green

It is highly unlikely the sellers are behind this. If they desire ‘a quick sale', turning down a genuine buyer is likely to cause more damage than good. Bypass the agents and go straight to the owners and make the point that (a)you are genuine purchasers (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you intend to use your own,trusted Ardleigh Green conveyancing solicitors - as opposed tothe ones that will give their negotiator at the agency a introducer fee or hit his conveyancing thresholds pre-set by HQ.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £350,000 apartment in Ardleigh Green next week. The landlords agents has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Ardleigh Green?

Ardleigh Green conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves administration charges levied by managing agents :

Completing conveyancing due diligence questions Where consent is required before sale in Ardleigh Green Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Ardleigh Green leasehold property is £350. For Ardleigh Green conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide answers.

Having spent years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Ardleigh Green. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Ardleigh Green conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Ardleigh Green flat is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 57.5 years.