My fiance and I are looking to acquire a property in Horwich and have appointed a Horwich conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Horwich solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers 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 Accreditation 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 solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Horwich solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

Can I be sure that the Horwich conveyancing solicitor on the panel is any good?

When it comes to conveyancing in Horwich obtaining recommendations is a good starting point. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always advise that you speak with the lawyer conducting your conveyancing.

Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with . Horwich conveyancing solicitors were selected. How long does it take for to send the offer to the ?

There is no definitive answer here. Have conducted the valuation? Have you informed as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

I am buying a property in Horwich. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender be concerned?

Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with your lawyer must follow the conveyancing instructions set out in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for . The CML Handbook sets out minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and are required to report to where a lease does not meet these requirements. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not limited to Horwich.

A colleague recommended that if I am purchasing in Horwich I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is usually included in the estimate for your Horwich conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Horwich around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Horwich.

I used Action Conveyancing a few years ago for my conveyancing in Horwich. I now require my papers however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing 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 Horwich of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Horwich. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Horwich.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Horwich - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

The majority of Horwich leasehold apartments will have a service bill for the upkeep of the block levied on behalf of the management company. If you acquire the property you will have to meet this amount, normally quarterly during the year. This could vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common areas. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a large figure, say about £50-£100 but you should to enquire as sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. How much is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment? Who is in charge of the building?