I am progressing with the sale of my ground floor flat in Hammersmith And Fulham and the estate agent has just text me to say that the buyers are changing their conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only engage with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Hammersmith And Fulham ?

Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.

Banks justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

Is it realistic for conveyancing in Hammersmith And Fulham to be completed in less than a month?

In the event that the seller is applying time constraints for your conveyancing it is highly recommended that your conveyancer is familiar with the area as they will make use of local connections and insight. It is even conceivable that they could have conducted previoushouses in the same street. You would be best advised to use a Hammersmith And Fulham conveyancing solicitor. In addition, make sure that the conveyancing firm is on the lender panel. It is estimated that nearly one in five of Hammersmith And Fulham conveyancing transactions are frustrated or derailed after discovering a buyer’s conveyancer was not on their mortgage lender’s panel. In many cases this discovery resulted in the transaction being held up by an average of three weeks. It is believed that this issue impacts in the region of one hundred thousand home sales annually. Many Hammersmith And Fulham conveyancing firms can not represent certain mortgage companies so do check as early as possible.

I opted to have a survey done on a house in Hammersmith And Fulham before retaining conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor advised that some banks will not give a mortgage on such a premises.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Halifax. If you contact us we can investigate further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Hammersmith And Fulham. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Hammersmith And Fulham to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

Am I best advised to choose a Hammersmith And Fulham conveyancing practitioner based in the area that I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can deal with the legal formalities but her office is 400kilometers away.

The primary upside of using a high street Hammersmith And Fulham conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, hand in your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local insight which is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust instructed your friend and in the main were happy that should outweigh using an unfamiliar Hammersmith And Fulham conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being local.

I am attracted to a two flats in Hammersmith And Fulham which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena.

I own a studio flat in Hammersmith And Fulham, conveyancing was carried out in 2009. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Hammersmith And Fulham with a long lease are worth £175,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2083

You have 58 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £23,800 and £27,400 plus costs.

The figure 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 a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.