Me and my fiance are buying a 2 bedroom flat in Redland with a mortgage. We like our Redland solicitor, but the bank says he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have little option but to instruct one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or retain our Redland conveyancer and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. This seems very unfair; are we not able to demand that the lender use our Redland conveyancing practitioner ?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Redland conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

We are looking to buy a flat and require a conveyancing solicitor in Redland who is on the Barclays solicitor panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a solicitor?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Barclays . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Redland.

We're in Redland, First timers buying with a mortgage (lender is Nottingham , and our solicitor is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?

The fact that your lawyer is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.

We are buying a property and the lawyer has referenced Chancel Repair for which the property may be liable as it falls into the area of such a church. She has mentioned insurance. Is this strictly warranted for conveyancing in Redland

Unless a previous purchase of the house took place after 12 October 2013 you could take it that conveyancing practitioners handling conveyancing in Redland to continue to suggest a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Redland. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Redland - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Redland Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability? Plenty Redland leasehold flats will have a service charge for the upkeep of the building invoiced on behalf of the freeholder. If you purchase the flat you will have to pay this amount, normally quarterly accross the year. This could differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common areas. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large figure, say about £50-£100 but you should to check it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. You should be aware if it is no more than eighty years it will affect the salability of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most Redlandlease extensions you will need to own the premises for 24 months before you are entitled to exercise a lease extension.