My wife and I are planning to buy a house in Whitwick and are in fact using a Whitwick conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Bank of Scotland have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Whitwick solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank 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 bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Whitwick lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

What is the first thing I need to know regarding purchase conveyancing in Whitwick?

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Whitwick or throughout England and Wales is often a confrontational process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of opportunity for confrontation between you and others involved in the legal transfer of property. For example, the vendor, estate agent and sometimes your bank. Selecting a law firm for your conveyancing in Whitwick should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY person in the legal process whose role it is to act in your legal interests and to keep you safe.

We are witnessing a definite ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone has to be at fault for the process taking so long. You your first instinct should be to trust your conveyancer ahead of the other players in the conveyancing process.

Should I be wary by brokers that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use an online conveyancing firm rather than a local Whitwick conveyancing firm?

As with lots of professional services, often recommendations from family and friends can be most helpful. But there are lots of parties with a keen interest in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, financial adviser and lenders may put forward conveyancers to choose. On occasion the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but occasionally there is an underlying commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You have the discretion to choose your own lawyer. However, bear in mind that some mortgage providers have an approved list of law firms you are obliged to use for the lender related work in your home move.

My father-in-law has encouraged me to use his conveyancers in Whitwick. Do I take his guidance?

No doubt it’s preferable to find a conveyancing lawyer is to have guidance from friends or relatives who have experience in using the solicitor that you are are thinking of instructing.

There are only Sixty One years left on my lease in Whitwick. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Whitwick.

Whitwick Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

The majority of Whitwick leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block invoiced by the freeholder. Where you acquire the flat you will have to meet this charge, normally quarterly throughout the year. This could differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, normally this is not a large sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check as occasionally it could be prohibitively expensive. Who are the managing agents? You will want to find out as much as possible concerning the company managing the block as they can either make your life much easier or uncomfortable. As the owner of a leasehold property you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to daily matters such as the cleanliness of the communal areas. Ask other people what they think of them. Finally, find out the dates that the service fees are due to the appropriate party and specifically what it includes.