My wife and I are looking to buy a house in Borrowash and have appointed a Borrowash conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Chelsea Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Borrowash conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors 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 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 lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Borrowash 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.

Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Skipton. Borrowash conveyancing practitioners have been chosen. How long does it take for Skipton to send the offer to the conveyancer?

Some lenders take longer than others. Have Skipton done the valuation? Have you informed Skipton as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Skipton conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

I have a mortgage with Yorkshire BS for my property in Borrowash. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Yorkshire BS?

Your original mortgage agreement with Yorkshire BS will provide that you need their approval prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Yorkshire BS’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Yorkshire BS will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Yorkshire BS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel solicitor.

I was told four weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Bank of Ireland. Is it usual for Bank of Ireland to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Borrowash is approved on their conveyancing panel? Bank of Ireland have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.

A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Bank of Ireland to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

What does a local search inform me about the property my wife and I buying in Borrowash?

Borrowash conveyancing often starts with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for instance Xpress Legal The local search plays a central part in many a Borrowash conveyancing purchase; that is if you don’t want any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search will provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic headings.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Borrowash is where the house is located. Can you offer any guidance?

Flying freeholds in Borrowash are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Borrowash you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Borrowash may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.

What makes a Borrowash lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Borrowash is not unique. Most leases are drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property Insurance obligations

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Borrowash, conveyancing was carried out 7 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Borrowash with an extended lease are worth £176,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2075

With just 50 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.