I am progressing with the sale of my apartment in Cross Hands and the estate agent has just telephoned to say that the buyers are switching conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only work with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Cross Hands ?

Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.

Banks blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms 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. The buyers are not going to have any impact on this.

A relative suggested that where I am purchasing in Cross Hands I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

A search of this type is sometimes included in the estimate for your Cross Hands conveyancing searches. It is a large report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Cross Hands around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Cross Hands Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Cross Hands.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Cross Hands. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Cross Hands

There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company?

I'm remortgaging my current home to a buy to let mortgage with Accord Mortgages Ltd and intend to use the remaining equity as a down payment on another house. The neighborhood we are looking at is Cross Hands. Will your conveyancers be able to act for both sets of mortgage companies and link together the two deals?

Do use our comparison tool on this page to be sure that the lawyers are on the relevant lender panels. On the basis that they are the conveyancer should be able to tie up the two conveyancing matters but you should have a chat with you conveyancer and communicate your desired outcome and requirements.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Cross Hands both have approximately forty five years remaining 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 Cross Hands is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. For most buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property 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 premises 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 Cross Hands conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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 any new 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.

I invested in buying a leasehold flat in Cross Hands, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1998. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Cross Hands with over 90 years remaining are worth £175,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2083

With 58 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £23,800 and £27,400 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.