Me and my partner are buying our first house. Our lawyer has e-mailedto see if we want to purchase additional conveyancing searches. We are really unsure what's relevant for conveyancing in Bankside

The scope of Bankside conveyancing searches depends primarily on the property, the location, the likelihood of any of these risks, your knowledge of the area and risks, your overall appetite to risk. What is important is that you properly comprehend what information each search could give you. Then you can decide if you consider that you need that information. If in doubt, ask your solicitor to offer guidance.

What happens if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the Principality Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Bankside?

The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.

How difficult is it to swap solicitor as I need to appoint a firm on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society conveyancing list. I instructed a high street conveyancing solicitor in Bankside five minutes from me but he is not accepted by Norwich and Peterborough Building Society

It would be our pleasure to assist you select a conveyancing solicitor in Bankside on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we work with do not pay us commission if you instruct them and are under regulation of the SRA who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Bankside. In utilising the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this site, you can compare costs for conveyancing solicitors in Bankside and beyond.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Bankside which have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Bankside. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Bankside conveyancing firm to help?

Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Bankside premises is 1-41 Royal Tower Lodge 40 Cartwright Street in April 2013. the tribunal adding the agreed value of capitalised ground rents and the reversion the price to be paid for the freehold was £1,187,000 This case related to 41 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 107 years.

I am due to consider quotes for conveyancing in Bankside from three lawyer and decide on one. Am I right to ask them to hold tight until I a suitable house to buy.

We would recommend that you only ask your property lawyer to open a file and apply for searches once the sales memo has been sent by the selling agent especially as Bankside conveyancing searches are not cheap.