My wife and I are planning to acquire a house in Coombe Dingle and are in fact using a Coombe Dingle conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. TSB have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Coombe Dingle lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Coombe Dingle solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

Have just purchased a probate house at auction in Coombe Dingle. Conveyancing is needed. What is next?

Now that you are legally committed yourself to purchase you must appoint a conveyancing lawyer quickly as you are faced with a fast approaching a fixed date to complete the purchase. Every auction property should have a bespoke auction pack. This will likely include most,if not all of the documents that your lawyer requires. Where you are dealing with leasehold property the conveyancing pack should provide a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing paperwork pertinent to a leasehold property. You must give this to the lawyer working for you ASAP. Do make sure that your finances are in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

Does a directory service exist listing Santander panel conveyancers in Coombe Dingle on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?

Unfortunately not yet. There is no such tool on the CML or Building Society Association sites. A small selection of banks make their panel listings visible on the web. Where you are seeking to appoint a Coombe Dingle property lawyer on the Santander please make the most of our facility.

Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Leeds Building Society. Coombe Dingle conveyancing lawyers are chosen. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Leeds Building Society?

There is no definitive answer here. Have Leeds Building Society completed the valuation? Have you advised Leeds Building Society as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one near me in Coombe Dingle I like with open areas and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Coombe Dingle in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?

If you need a home loan that many years will likely be an issue. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.

What does commercial conveyancing in Coombe Dingle cover?

Coombe Dingle conveyancing for business premises covers a broad array of guidance, provided by qualified solicitors, relating to business property. For instance, this type of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more commonly, the assignment of existing leases or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial mortgages and the termination of leases.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Coombe Dingle which have approximately fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Coombe Dingle is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Coombe Dingle conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I inherited a 1st floor flat in Coombe Dingle, conveyancing formalities finalised 10 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Coombe Dingle with over 90 years remaining are worth £190,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2087

You have 62 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £17,100 and £19,800 plus 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 a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.