My partner and I are hoping to acquire a property in Kingsbridge and have appointed a Kingsbridge conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Kingsbridge conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent 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 bank 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 Kingsbridge lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

We have agreed to purchase a house in Kingsbridge. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender be concerned?

Given that your lender is your lawyer must comply with the formal instructions set out in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for . The CML Handbook includes minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and are required to report to where a lease fails to comply with these specifications. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not restricted to Kingsbridge.

It is unclear whether my lender requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Kingsbridge bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told it does not affect the mortgage offer and they would lend. My Kingsbridge conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they refuse to lend based on their specific requirements. I have no idea who is right.

Provided that the is on the bank approved list, she or he must follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook provisions for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company 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 mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Kingsbridge. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £150. A few days later, the called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I am looking for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and found one close by in Kingsbridge I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 61 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Kingsbridge in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?

If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be an issue. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.

I am using a search engine for the phrase conveyancing in Kingsbridge it reveals numerous solicitorsin the vicinity. How do I determine which is the suitable conveyancing solicitor for the sale of my house?

The ideal way of finding a suitable conveyancer is via trusted recommendation, so enquire of friends and relatives who have bought a property in Kingsbridge or the local estate agent or mortgage broker. Costs for conveyancing in Kingsbridge vary, so it's advisable to secure a minimum of three quotes from varying types of companies. Be sure to obtain confirmation that the charges are guaranteed not to rise.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Kingsbridge. Conveyancing and mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Kingsbridge who previously acted has long since retired. What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Kingsbridge conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Kingsbridge - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

In the main the outlay for major works tend not to be built into the maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Kingsbridge obliged leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major repairs or maintenance. Is there a share of the freehold?