Me and my partner are about to exchange on the purchase of a house in Clare but as a consequence of wreckage from the recent storms I have was able negotiate reparation from the vendor in the sum of £3k by way of a reduction in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of amending the contract yet Skipton are not allowing this. Why were they notified?

The lawyer being on a Skipton conveyancing panel is duty bound to disclose to Skipton of any variations to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your conveyancing practitioner to disclose the reduction to Skipton then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Skipton and you would have to appoint a new property lawyer for your conveyancing in Clare.

We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Clare for our house move. Our financial adviser has since notified us that our mortgage company Skipton Building Society won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unfair competition?

Banks tend to restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such criteria being that a firm must not be a sole practitioner. As well as restricting the type of firm, some have reduced the amount of firms they allow to act for them. You should note that Skipton Building Society have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Skipton Building Society Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a primary driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago even though there are differing opinions regarding the level of solicitor engagement in some of that fraud. Data from the Land Registry indicate that hundreds of law firms, including some in or near Clare only conduct a couple conveyances per annum.

When it comes to lenders such as Clydesdale, do Clare lawyers have to pay an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are not aware of any lender fees to register on their panel, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

We previously selected conveyancers locally in Clare on the Co-operative solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a further amount for the legal aspects of the Co-operative mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Co-operative?

As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your conveyancing practitioner may levy a fee for this. The charge is not set by Co-operative but by your Clare conveyancer. Some firms on the Co-operative panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.

We expect to receive a AIP from Aldermore this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Aldermore recommend any Clare solicitors on the Aldermore conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?

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

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

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Clare. 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 a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Clare where we see a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Clare conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

I bought a split level flat in Clare, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1997. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar flats in Clare with a long lease are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2094

You have 69 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.