I am nearing exchange of contracts for my home in Church Village and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the purchasers are switching law firm. The excuse is that the lender will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading mortgage company only deal with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Church Village ?

Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.

Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say 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. Some 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 buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

My wife and I have just purchased a house in Church Village. We have noticed several issues with the property which we believe were overlooked in the conveyancing searches. Is there anything we can do? What searches should? have been conducted as part of conveyancing in Church Village?

The question is not clear as to the nature of the problems and if they are relate to conveyancing in Church Village. Conveyancing searches and due diligence initiated during the buying process are carried out to help avoid problems. As part of the legal transfer of property, the vendor fills in a form referred to as a SPIF. If the information turns out to be inaccurate, you may have a misrepresentation claim against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Church Village.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Church Village. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Church Village

There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £125,000 flat in Church Village next week. The managing agents has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Church Village?

Church Village conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually requires the buyer’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries most will be content to do so. They are entitled to charge a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

I am the registered owner of a garden flat in Church Village, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Church Village with over 90 years remaining are worth £197,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2081

With 56 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £29,500 and £34,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Our offer on semi in Church Village has been accepted, but there is a chain. The owners have put an offer on a property, however it’s not been accepted yet, and has viewings of other apartments in the pipeline. I have instructed a local conveyancing solicitor in Church Village. What should be my next step? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with TSB?

It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs too early (mortgage application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then valuation, Church Village conveyancing search costs, etc). The first course of action is to check that your conveyancer is on the TSB approved list. Concerning the subsequent stages this very much depends on the specifics of your case, desire for the property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market some buyers will apply for a home loan with TSB and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their conveyancer to proceed with the conveyancing in Church Village.