I am nearing exchange of contracts for my flat in Kirkheaton and the estate agent has just e-mailed to warn that the purchasers are changing their solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named lender only work with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Kirkheaton ?

Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.

Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

I purchased a terraced Edwardian property in Kirkheaton. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Barclays Direct. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Kirkheaton and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.

Am I better off to instruct a Kirkheaton conveyancing lawyer based in the location that I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can conduct the legal formalities however his firm is located approximately 350miles away.

The primary upside of using a local Kirkheaton conveyancing practice is that you can visit the firm to sign paperwork, hand in your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. Having local Kirkheaton know how is a plus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If other friends have used your friend and in the main were impressed that must surpass using an unknown Kirkheaton conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being Kirkheaton based.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Kirkheaton where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Kirkheaton conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Kirkheaton Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

Where a Kirkheaton lease has no more than eighty years it will impact the value of the property. It is worth checking with your bank that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have owned the property for a couple of years before you are entitled to exercise a lease extension. How is the lease structured? Are there any major works on the horizon that will likely add a premium to the service charges?

Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the mortgage company conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the mortgage company approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?

Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the lender conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the lender solicitor panel.