My partner and I are planning to buy a property in Slade Green and have appointed a Slade Green conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Nottingham Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Slade Green conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers 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 Slade Green lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

My partner and I have just acquired a house in Slade Green. We have noticed several problems with the house which we consider were omitted in the conveyancing searches. Do we have any recourse? What searches should? have been carried out as part of conveyancing in Slade Green?

The question is not clear as what problems have arisen and if they are relate to conveyancing in Slade Green. Conveyancing searches and due diligence undertaken during the legal transfer of property are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the legal transfer of property, the vendor fills in a questionnaire known as a SPIF. If the information turns out to be incorrect, then you may have a claim against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Slade Green.

We are purchasing a property and the solicitor has raised the issue of Chancel Repair for which the house could be liable because it falls into the area of such a church. He has recommended insurance. Is this strictly appropriate for conveyancing in Slade Green

Unless a prior acquisition of the property took place after 12 October 2013 you could take it that conveyancing practitioners conducting conveyancing in Slade Green to remain recommending a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Slade Green. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Here are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Slade Green

The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £375,000 flat in Slade Green in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Slade Green?

Slade Green conveyancing on leasehold flats often involves the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are entitled to invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Slade Green. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for a lease extension?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Slade Green conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Slade Green premises is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case related to 13 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 76 years.