I am progressing with the sale of my house in Dingle and the EA has just called to say that the buyers are appointing a new property lawyer. The excuse is that the lender will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a leading mortgage company only work with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Dingle ?

Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 25 years.

Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

I am hoping to move into my new home in Dingle next Friday. I have now been asked to send a copy of my building insurance schedule by my solicitor as as she informs me that she is duty bound to validate that it is in order for the lender. What does the insurance need to cover?

All property lawyers on acting for mortgage companies would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s Part 2 conditions. These obligations are not unique to conveyancing in Dingle.

As a novice what is the most important advice you can impart about purchase conveyancing in Dingle?

Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Dingle and elsewhere in England and Wales is an adversarial experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of room for conflict between you and others involved in the house moving process. E.g., the seller, estate agent and even potentially your bank. Appointing a solicitor for your conveyancing in Dingle is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE person in the transaction whose role it is to act in your legal interests and to keep you safe.

We are witnessing a worrying emergence of a "blame" culture- someone must be at fault for the process taking so long. You must always trust your conveyancer ahead of all other players when it comes to the legal assignment of property.

How does conveyancing in Dingle differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in Dingle come to us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is built. This is because builders in Dingle usually acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Dingle or who has acted in the same development.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Dingle with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Dingle can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Dingle home move. If a new share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity. The majority of freeholders or Management Companies in Dingle levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Dingle. If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing. A minority of Dingle leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Dingle - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Please note that where the lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Dinglelease extensions you would be be obliged to have owned the property for two years in order to be eligible to carry out a lease extension. For most Dingle leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be incorporated into the maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Dingle ask leasehold owners to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major works.