My husband and I are looking to acquire a home in Cowfold and are in fact using a Cowfold conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Barnsley Building Society have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Cowfold solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Cowfold lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

Should lawyers request an advanced payment when it comes to conveyancing in Cowfold?

Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Cowfold your lawyer will request that you place them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. Generally this is asked for to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. When the deposit is payable against the sale price then this will be asked for immediately ahead of exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is needed should be transferred a couple of days prior to the completion date.

We are hoping to buy a newly converted apartment in Cowfold with a homeloan from The Mortgage Works.We have a Cowfold conveyancing lawyer but The Mortgage Works informed us she’s not on their approved list of member firms. We have to appoint a The Mortgage Works panel firm or retain our preferred solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The home loan offered to you contains various provisions, a common one being that solicitors must be on the The Mortgage Works approved list. in the past, most banks had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find 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 lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for The Mortgage Works

We are downsizing from our home in Cowfold and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any high street Cowfold conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers used a nationwide conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Cowfold. We have lived in Cowfold for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Do we contact our local Authority to get clarification need.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm already. Are they able to advise? You need to enquire of 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 health insurance to cover that same sickness)

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Cowfold from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cowfold can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ representatives.
Many landlords or managing agents in Cowfold charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cowfold. Some Cowfold leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Cowfold leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.

I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Cowfold, conveyancing was carried out 3 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Cowfold with over 90 years remaining are worth £192,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2080

With just 54 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £32,300 and £37,400 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more 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 clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.