The Longridge conveyancing firm handling our Longridge conveyancing has identified an inconsistency between the surveyor’s assumptions in the valuation report and what is revealed within the conveyancing documents. My lawyer says that he must check that the lender is OK with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my lawyer’s course or action right?

Your conveyancer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.

When it comes to mortgage companies such as Santander, do Longridge lawyers incur a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?

We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Longridge. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £200. A couple of days later, the conveyancing practitioner called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Co-operative 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 Co-operative 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 selling my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in April 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Kent Reliance are being difficult. The Longridge solicitor who is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Kent Reliance are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Kent Reliance have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Kent Reliance have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Kent Reliance may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Longridge?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Longridge. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Longridge conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Longridge conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggest that you talk with several firms including non Longridge conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions could be of use:

What are the charges for lease extension work? How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Longridge Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

How long is the Lease? The majority of Longridge leasehold properties will incur a service bill for maintenance of the block invoiced by the freeholder. If you buy the apartment you will have to pay this contribution, usually quarterly throughout the year. This could vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a large amount, say around £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because occasionally it could be prohibitively expensive. Is the freehold reversion owned jointly by the leaseholders?

Midway through the sale of a leasehold flat in Longridge. Conveyancing is fine but we have been asked to pay an extortionate amount by the freeholder. To date we have paid £237 for a leasehold management pack and then a further £200 plus VAT for supplemental questions supplied by the purchaser's conveyancing practitioner.

Your conveyancing practitioner will unlikely have any sway over the level of the charges for this information however the typical costs for the information for Longridge leasehold premises is £395. When it comes to Longridge conveyancing deals it is customary for the vendor to cover the costs. The freeholder or their agents are not duty bound to answer these questions most will agree to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices out of proportion to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no statute that mandates set charges for administrative tasks. There is no statutory time limit by which they are required to issue answers.