Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor in Barnehurst is not on my bank's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of her conveyancing?

It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are all sorts of perfectly plausible explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator revealed that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) lack of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Should you be concerned you should simply call the Barnehurst conveyancing firm and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.

When can the exchange of contracts happen for domestic conveyancing in Barnehurst and am I required to be at the conveyancers office?

If you are near to our conveyancing solicitors in Barnehurst you are welcome to attend to sign contracts. However, the law practices we work with offer a national conveyancing service and give just as diligent and professional a job for you when dealing with you by post or email. The executing of the sale agreement is not when everything is set in stone. A signed contract is just a prerequisite for the solicitor to exchange contracts at the suitable time, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The exchange process is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where an extended "chain" is involved, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Barnehurst)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.

Me and my brother own a renovated Georgian house in Barnehurst. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Bank of Ireland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. Is it worth asking Bank of Ireland to clarify?

You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Barnehurst and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.

My brother has suggested that I instruct his lawyers for conveyancing in Barnehurst. Should I use them?

No doubt it’s preferable to select a conveyancing practitioner is to have recommendations from friends or family who have experience in using the firm that you are are thinking of instructing.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Barnehurst conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Barnehurst conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggest that you talk with several firms including non Barnehurst conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be helpful:

What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Barnehurst in the last twenty four months?

After months of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Barnehurst. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to make a decision on the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Barnehurst residence is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case was in relation to 13 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 76 years.