My fiance and I are hoping to purchase a flat in Williton and are in fact using a Williton conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Leeds Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Williton solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?

Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 property lawyer 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Williton solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Williton? What am I being asked for?

In order to comply with Money Laundering Regulations any Williton conveyancing firm will require evidence of your identity in all conveyancing matters. This is normally dealt with by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility account evidencing where you reside.

In accordance with Money Laundering Regulations, conveyancing solicitors are required to investigate not just the ID of conveyancing clients but also the origin of monies that they receive in respect of any matter. Refusal to disclose this will result in your solicitor terminating their relationship with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.

Your property lawyers are duty bound to notify the relevant authorities should they consider that any monies received by them may contravene the Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules.

A colleague informed me that in purchasing a property in Williton there may be various restrictions as to what one can do in terms of external alterations to a property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in Williton which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Williton should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

is it true that all Williton solicitor firms on the Co-operative conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Co-operative approved list of solicitors they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Some lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

I can not fathom if my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have telephoned my Williton building society branch on various occasions and was told it wasn't a problem and they would lend. My Williton conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I simply don't know who is right.

As long as the conveyancing practitioner is on the bank panel, she or he must follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

As co-executor for the estate of my aunt I am disposing of a house in Newport but live in Williton. My conveyancer (based 300 kilometers awayhas requested that I sign a stat dec before completion. Could you suggest a conveyancing solicitor in Williton who can attest this legal document for me?

strictly speaking you should not be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are Williton based

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Williton conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Williton conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Williton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions might be helpful:

If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason? How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Williton in the last year?

I inherited a split level flat in Williton, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1999. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar properties in Williton with over 90 years remaining are worth £206,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2090

With just 65 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.