I am progressing with the sale of my apartment in Stansted and the EA has just called to warn that the buyers are switching law firm. The reason given is that the bank will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only engage with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Stansted ?

Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.

Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices 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. Your buyers are not going to have any impact on this.

Last October we completed a house move in Stansted. We have since encountered a number of issues with the property which we consider were omitted in the conveyancing searches. Do we have any recourse? Can you clarify the nature of searches that needed to have been conducted for conveyancing in Stansted?

The question is not clear as to the nature of the problems and if they are unique to conveyancing in Stansted. Conveyancing searches and investigations undertaken during the legal transfer of property are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the process, the vendor fills in a questionnaire known as a SPIF. If the information turns out to be misleading, then you may have a claim against the owner for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Stansted.

Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in Stansted is more expensive?

Stansted leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving appropriate notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.

Can you clarify what the consequences are if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the Lloyds Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Stansted?

First, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Stansted I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Stansted in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.