Please help. My Great Missenden conveyancer is assuring me that he has toconduct Great Missenden conveyancing searches asthe firm are on the HSBCapproved lawyer panel. Do I not have any say here?

You have limited options available to you. Given that you are taking out a loan with a mortgage company your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your conveyancing practitioner would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Great Missenden conveyancing searches.

Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to attend the offices of the solicitor to execute the legal charge? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in Great Missenden so that I can attend their offices when needed.

Whereas this was necessary twenty years ago, most mortgage companies no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide identification documents and there are still manifest benefits to instructing a local practitioner, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Great Missenden.

I am assisting my niece sell her flat in Great Missenden. Will the conveyancing solicitor order an energy performance certificate or do I organise this?

Following the demise of Home Information Packs, energy assessments was maintained a compulsory part of selling a house. An energy assessment must be to hand prior to the property being advertised. This is not a task that law firms normally arrange. If you are instructing a Great Missenden conveyancing practitioner they might be willing to arrange energy performance certificates due to their contacts with reputable Great Missenden accredited person

I can not fathom if my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have telephoned my Great Missenden building society branch on a couple of occasions and was advised it wasn't an issue and they will lend. My Great Missenden conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called to say that they will not lend in accordance with their specific requirements. I simply don't know who is right.

Provided that the solicitor is on the mortgage company panel, they must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook specifications for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

Planning on purchasing a flat in Great Missenden. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the TSB conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Great Missenden solicitor is on the TSB conveyancing panel.

Will our conveyancer be making enquiries regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Great Missenden.

Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers dealing with homes in Great Missenden. There are those who acquire a house in Great Missenden, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.

Solicitors are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that can be initiated by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which should give them a better appreciation of the risks in Great Missenden. The standard completed inquiry forms supplied to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard question of the seller to find out whether the premises has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred and is not notified by the vendor, then a purchaser may commence a legal claim for losses stemming from an misleading response. A buyer’s solicitors may also order an enviro search. This should disclose whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries will need to be conducted.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Great Missenden. Conveyancing is a frightening process 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 selection of leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Great Missenden

Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision.