My partner and I are looking to acquire a flat in Brinsworth and are in fact using a Brinsworth conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Bank of Scotland have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Brinsworth solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 Quality 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 bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Brinsworth lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

It is a dozen years since I bought my property in Brinsworth. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been appointed on the sale but I can't locate the title documents. Is this a problem?

You need not be too concerned. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be retained by the mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in the purchase. Secondly in most cases the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring current official copies of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Brinsworth relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.

I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one close by in Brinsworth I like with open areas and transport links nearby, however it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Brinsworth for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?

Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.

My husband and I are new to the buying process - agreed a price, yet the property agent informed us that the seller will only go ahead if we instruct their chosen solicitors as they need an ‘expedited deal’. Our preferred option is to instruct a high street solicitor with experience of conveyancing in Brinsworth

It is highly unlikely the owners are driving this. If they want ‘a quick sale', turning down a serious purchaser is not the way to achieve this. Try to communicate with the owners directly and make the point that (a)you are serious purchasers (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you intend to instruct your own,trusted Brinsworth conveyancing firm - not the ones that will give their negotiator at the agency a referral fee or hit his conveyancing figures pre-set by senior management.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Brinsworth which have approximately forty five years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Brinsworth is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the premises. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Brinsworth conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Brinsworth - Examples of Queries before buying

How is the lease structured? How much is the ground rent and service charge? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?