I am six weeks into the sale of my house in Hampstead and the estate agent has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are swapping conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Hampstead ?

UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.

Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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 not going to have any impact on this.

Last May we completed a house move in Hampstead. We have noticed several problems with the property which we consider were missed in the conveyancing searches. Is there anything we can do? Can you clarify the type of searches that should have been conducted as part of conveyancing in Hampstead?

The query is vague as what problems have arisen and if they are relate to conveyancing in Hampstead. Conveyancing searches and investigations initiated as part of the buying process are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the legal transfer of property, a seller answers a document referred to as a SPIF. If the information turns out to be misleading, you may have a misrepresentation claim against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Hampstead.

My aunt passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Hampstead. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to UBS, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?

Where you intend to refinance then UBS will require that you use a conveyancer on the UBS conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your UBS conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the UBS mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

I used Stirling Law a few years past for my conveyancing in Hampstead. Now, I need the files but the law firm has closed. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Hampstead of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Hampstead. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Hampstead should include some of the following:

The landlord’s rights to access the flat. You should be made aware that your landlord has rights of access as well as be informed how much notice must be provided. The length of the lease term. You should receive guidance as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years What options are available to the landlord where you breach a clause of your lease? You should know if the lease permits you to alter or improve anything in the property- you must know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether permission is mandated necessary You should be sent a copy of the lease

I am the proprietor of a two-bedroom flat in Hampstead. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for a lease extension?

Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Hampstead conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Hampstead property is Raised Ground Floor Flat 20 Fitzjohns Avenue in July 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premiums to be paid for new leases in respect of the Raised Ground Floor Flat and the First Floor Flat were to be calculated as: Raised Ground Floor: £765,175.14 First Floor: £601,617.77 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 16.83 and 16.43.