I am in the process of selling my home in East Preston and the estate agent has just text me to say that the buyers are appointing a new solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only work with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in East Preston ?

Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for over 25 years.

Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.

Me and my partner are buying a house in East Preston. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we have to put our life savings into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

Is it the case that all East Preston solicitors on the RBS conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?

As solicitors, in order to be on the RBS approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the practice would be governed by the CLC.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in East Preston off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Kent Reliance. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Kent Reliance, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.

Will my conveyancer be raising questions concerning flooding during the conveyancing in East Preston.

Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers carrying out conveyancing in East Preston. There are those who purchase a property in East Preston, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.

Solicitors are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous searches that can be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should give them a better understanding of the risks in East Preston. The standard information given to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a standard inquiry of the vendor to discover if the property has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the owner, then a buyer may commence a legal claim for losses resulting from an incorrect reply. A purchaser’s lawyers may also commission an enviro search. This will indicate if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries should be initiated.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in East Preston. Conveyancing is daunting 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.

Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in East Preston

Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Please supply a car parking plan. The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose?

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in East Preston. Conveyancing has not commenced, but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the invoice as usual given that all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

East Preston Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. How much is the yearly service fee and ground rent? Best to be warned whether changing the roof or some other significant cost is coming up that will be shared amongst the leasehold owners and will dramatically impact the level of the service costs or result in a one off payment.