My partner and I are hoping to purchase a house in Sea Mills and have appointed a Sea Mills conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Sea Mills solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Sea Mills lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

My grandmother passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Sea Mills. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to , pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?

Given you intend to re-mortgage then will require that you use a conveyancer on the conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

I am looking for a flat up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Sea Mills I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Sea Mills for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?

If you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.

I am using a search engine for the term cheap conveyancing in Sea Mills it shows results of numerous property lawyersin the area. How do I determine which is the suitable conveyancer for the sale of my house?

The best method of seeking a suitable conveyancer is via personal testimonial, so enquire of colleagues and family who have bought a property in Sea Mills or the local estate agent or financial adviser. Costs for conveyancing in Sea Mills differ, so it's a good idea to secure a minimum of four fee calculations from varying types of companies. Make sure that you know what costs in the quote includes.

I own a leasehold house in Sea Mills. Conveyancing and mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Sea Mills who previously acted has now retired. Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Sea Mills conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I acquired a split level flat in Sea Mills, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable properties in Sea Mills with over 90 years remaining are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 50

With 50 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.