The Claydon conveyancing firm handling our Claydon conveyancing has discovered a discrepancy when comparing the assumptions in the valuation survey and what is revealed within the legal papers for the property. My lawyer says that he is duty bound to check that the bank is OK with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my solicitor’s course or action legitimate?

Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.

We wanted to use a property lawyer in Claydon for our house move. Our broker informed us that our bank Barclays won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?

Mortgage Companies ordinarily imposes restrictions either the category or the amount of conveyancing solicitors on their panel. A common example of such criteria being that a law practice must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, a few banks have limited the amount of firms they permit to represent them. You should note that Barclays have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Barclays Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago even though there remains mixed views regarding the level of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Data from the Land Registry indicate that plenty of law firms, including some in or near Claydon only carry out a couple conveyances a year.

2 months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Claydon completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Claydon. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Claydon.

Claydon Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

How much is the ground rent and service charge? Who are the managing agents? It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other significant cost is anticipated that will be shared by the leasehold owners and will materially impact the level of the maintenance costs or necessitate a one off invoice.

My lawyers in Claydon have advised me that they can not locate my conveyancing file. At the time of my purchase I took out a mortgage with the mortgage company. Is it case that being on the bank conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a number of years?

Different lenders have different requirements but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the bank Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting the lender directly.