My fiance and I are hoping to acquire a flat in Hednesford and have instructed a Hednesford conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Chelsea Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Hednesford lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. 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 solicitor 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 and you may continue to use your own Hednesford solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

My fiance and I wish to acquire a newly converted apartment in Hednesford with a homeloan from Bank of Ireland.We would like to retain our Hednesford conveyancing lawyer but Bank of Ireland advised that his firm is not listed on their "panel". We have to appoint a Bank of Ireland panel solicitor or keep our preferred solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to act for them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Bank of Ireland use our lawyer?

No, not really. The loan issued to you contains terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers needs to be on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Bank of Ireland

When it comes to mortgage companies such as UBS, do Hednesford conveyancing practitioners face a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to register on their panel, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

Does a directory service exist listing Co-operative panel solicitors in Hednesford on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?

No. There is no such tool on the CML or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of lenders make their panel listings viewable online. Where you are in need of a Hednesford lawyer on the Co-operative please use our tool.

I had a mortgage agreed in principle with Bank of Ireland. Hednesford conveyancing lawyers were selected. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Bank of Ireland?

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

I opted to have a survey completed on a property in Hednesford before instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies may not grant a loan on a flying freehold house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions from Nationwide. If you contact us we can check via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Hednesford. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Hednesford especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Hednesford.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years left on my lease in Hednesford. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Hednesford.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Hednesford - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

What restrictions are contained in the Hednesford Lease? Best to be warned if changing the roof or some other significant cost is pending that will be shared by the tenants and could well materially impact the level of the service costs or necessitate a one time invoice. Where a Hednesford lease has fewer than 80 years it will affect the value of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Hednesfordlease extensions you will need to own the premises for 24 months in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension.