Me and my fiance are buying a 2 bedroom flat in Valley with a mortgage. We have a Valley conveyancer, but the lender says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel solicitors or retain our Valley conveyancing practitioner as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We regard this is inequitable; can we not demand that the lender use our Valley conveyancing practitioner ?

No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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 Valley conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Valley

There are many recorded licenced Conveyancers in Valley and Solicitor practices in Valley offering conveyancing It is important to make clear that the two are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal aspects of transferring property. They may both also deal with associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, lease extensions and transfer of equity conveyancing.

We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from Virgin Money as we intend to carry out renovations to our property in Valley. Do we need to appoint a local Valley solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?

Virgin Money don't usually require firms on their conveyancing panel to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel.

I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Valley. My mortgage broker suggested a conveyancing practitioner. I paid an on account payment of £225. Shortly after, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Clydesdale panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

Should our lawyer be raising questions regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Valley.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Valley. There are those who purchase a house in Valley, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the purchaser.

Lawyers are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous checks that may be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should give them a better appreciation of the risks in Valley. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms sent to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a usual inquiry of the seller to discover whether the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that the premises has been flooded in past and is not revealed by the seller, then a purchaser may commence a legal claim for losses resulting from an inaccurate reply. The purchaser’s solicitors may also order an environmental search. This should disclose whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations will need to be carried out.

I purchased a renovated Georgian property in Valley. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Barnsley Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Valley and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who completed the work.

Last June I purchased a leasehold property in Valley. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

I acquired a 2 bed flat in Valley, conveyancing formalities finalised April 1999. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in Valley with over 90 years remaining are worth £191,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2079

You have 54 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £31,400 and £36,200 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. 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 considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.