I am progressing with the sale of my house in Barmouth and the EA has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are switching solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named lender only engage with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Barmouth ?

UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.

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 keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

My Conveyancer in Barmouth has never been on on the Conveyancing Panel. Can I still retain my family solicitor even though they are not on the panel?

The limited options available to you here include:

1. Carry on with your existing Barmouth solicitors but will need to retain a solicitor on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional overall legal fees as well as cause frustration.
2. Choose a new lawyer to act in the purchase, obviously checking they are on the panel

I am selling our property in Barmouth and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was built on contaminated land. A high street Barmouth conveyancer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers used a web based conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Barmouth. Having lived in Barmouth for many years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to obtain confirmation that the buyers are looking for.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Barmouth?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Barmouth. 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…’

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Barmouth. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Barmouth - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Barmouth Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Is the freehold reversion owned jointly by the leaseholders? It would be sensible to find out as much as you can concerning the company managing the block as they will either make your life much easier or uncomfortable. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical issues such as the upkeep of the common parts. Enquire of other people if they are happy with their management. On a final note, find out the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending the funds. What is the name of the managing agents?