I am selling my house in Lydney and the EA has just text me to say that the buyers are switching property lawyer. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Lydney ?

Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.

Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened 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. Some 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. The purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

Is it the case that all Lydney solicitor practices on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Some banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be overseen by the CLC.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Lydney. I have a mortgage offer with Barclays. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Barclays, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Barclays conveyancing panel.

My sealed bid on a house in Lydney has been accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have put an offer on a property, but it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. I have instructed a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Lydney. What do I do now? At what point do I apply for the mortgage with Santander?

It is understandable to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then valuation, Lydney conveyancing search costs, etc). First, you must check that your lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel. Regarding the next steps this very much depends on the uniqueness of your transaction, desire for the property and on the state of the market. In a hot market many home buyers will apply for a home loan with Santander and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their property lawyer to move forward with the conveyancing in Lydney.

In my capacity as executor for the estate of my grandmother I am disposing of a house in Cardiff but reside in Lydney. My lawyer (based 250 kilometers from merequires that I sign a stat dec ahead of the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing lawyer in Lydney who can attest and place their company stamp on the document?

Technically speaking you should not be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or qualified solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are Lydney based

Last March I purchased a leasehold property in Lydney. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Leasehold Conveyancing in Lydney - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

You should be aware if it is no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the flat. Check with your mortgage company that they are content with remaining years on the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for two years in order to be eligible to carry out a lease extension. Its a good idea to discover as much as possible regarding the company managing the block as they can either make living at the property much simpler or problematic. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical matters such as the cleanliness of the communal areas. Enquire of other people if they are happy with them. Finally, be sure you know the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the relevant party and specifically what you get for your money. It would be prudent to enquire if the the lease includes any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance some leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Lydney. If you like the apartmentin Lydney yet your cat can’t move with you then you will be presented with a hard decision.

The conveyancing solicitors handling our conveyancing in Lydney has sent papers to review that show the land is unregistered with epitome documents. Is it not the case that all properties in Lydney are registered?

Although most properties in Lydney are now registered with HM Land Registry there are still a few that are unregistered. Any property in Lydney that has been transferred since the late 1980’s will have been registered at the HMLR under the compulsory ‘first registration’ scheme. However, if a Lydney property has not changed hands in that time then it’s likely the old fashioned title deeds will be the only evidence of ownership.Plenty of Lydney conveyancing lawyers should be capable of dealing with this type of conveyancing but if any uncertainty reigns the standard recommendation these days seems to be for the vendor’s solicitor to register it first and subsequently sell - this no doubt result in a significant delay.