We are planning to purchase a 2 bedroom apartment in Clifton with a mortgage. We have a Clifton lawyer, however the mortgage company says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or continue with our Clifton solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. We consider that this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Clifton conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our house are lost. The conveyancers who handled the conveyancing in Clifton 10 years ago have long since closed. Will I be able to sell the house?

Assuming you have a registered title the details of your ownership will be held by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is easy to perform a search at the Land Registry, locate your property and get current copies of the property title for less than a fiver. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally hold a file copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for twenty pounds.

I am looking for a flat up to £305k and found one close by in Clifton I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, however it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Clifton for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Clifton. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I acquired a basement flat in Clifton, conveyancing was carried out February 2001. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar properties in Clifton with an extended lease are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2083

With 58 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £22,800 and £26,400 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to have a meeting at the offices of the mortgage company conveyancing panel solicitor to execute the legal charge? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Clifton as it will be easier to attend their offices if necessary.

Whereas this was necessary 12 years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Clifton.