My fiance and I are planning to buy a flat in Anstey and have instructed a Anstey conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Lloyds TSB Bank have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Anstey lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 Accreditation 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 as you are at liberty to use your preferred Anstey 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.

In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Anstey? Is this really necessary?

To satisfy the Money Laundering Regulations any Anstey conveyancing firm will require evidence of your identity in all conveyancing matters. This is usually dealt with by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility bill showing your correct address.

Under Money Laundering Regulations, property lawyers are obliged by law to check not only the ID of conveyancing clients but also the source of fund that they receive in respect of any matter. An unwillingness to disclose this may result in your conveyancer cancelling their retainer with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.

Your conveyancers will have an obligation to inform the relevant authorities should they consider that any amounts received by them may contravene the Money Laundering Regulations.

We were going to get a AIP from Aldermore this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Aldermore recommend any Anstey solicitors on the Aldermore conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?

You will need to appoint Anstey solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Aldermore through the process.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Kent Reliance. I assume I don't need a Anstey property lawyer on the Kent Reliance panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your Kent Reliance mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Kent Reliance mortgage from the register. Kent Reliance, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Kent Reliance has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Kent Reliance has instructed the Land Registry to do so

It is unclear whether my lender obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Anstey bank branch on numerous occasions and was told it does not affect the mortgage offer and they will lend. My Anstey conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they refuse to lend based on their published requirements. I simply don't know who is right.

Provided that the solicitor is on the mortgage company approved list, they must comply with the CML Handbook specifications for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company 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 bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

Last September I purchased a leasehold property in Anstey. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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 be sure 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 garden flat in Anstey, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Anstey with a long lease are worth £206,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2092

With 66 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

My 20yr old son is about to join the property ladder, he had his mortgage in principle. After the seller agreed the offer on the flat we contacted the building society to issue the formal offer. I was shocked to hear that mortgage companies do not accept all property lawyer, they must be on their panel, is this legal?

Mortgage Companies normally restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing practices on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that lenders have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Anstey property lawyer on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Unlikely.