My husband and I are looking to acquire a house in Scarborough and are in fact using a Scarborough conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. National Westminster Bank have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Scarborough lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. 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 lender 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Scarborough solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

We are purchasing a house and the conveyancer has identified Chancel Repair to which the house may be liable as it falls into the area of such a church. She has mentioned insurance. Is this really warranted for conveyancing in Scarborough

Unless a prior purchase of the house took place after 12 October 2013 you could expect lawyers conducting conveyancing in Scarborough to remain recommending a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.

I used Stirling Law several years past for my conveyancing in Scarborough. Now, I need my files but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Scarborough of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Scarborough conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Scarborough conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggest that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Scarborough conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions might be useful:

What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in Scarborough in the last 12 months? Can they put you in touch with clients in Scarborough who can give a testimonial?

I inherited a 1st floor flat in Scarborough, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2009. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable flats in Scarborough with a long lease are worth £190,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2087

With 62 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £17,100 and £19,800 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

My sister purchased her house in Scarborough in 2008. She has got married, widowed and in recent months got remarried. She intends to market the house next summer. I think she will just be asked to supply copies of her marriage papers to the conveyancer however she is concerned it could frustrate the sale of the property. Is it worth updating the title details for the house?

The is no need to update the title for the property on the basis that you have the evidence needed to demonstrate how the change of name has come about.

Any buyer’s property lawyer should review the registered information and require evidence to prove the change of name for example marriage certificates.