My financial adviser says he needs my Lancashire lawyer’ panel member for the Santander conveyancing panel. Can you suggest how I discover this. I have called my local Lancashire branch but they don't know it.

Have you tried speaking to your Lancashire solicitor about this?. Most Lancashire conveyancing practices will retain a file or database of lender panel information which would include, if applicable, their conveyancing panel details for each mortgage company.

My uncle passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Lancashire. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Principality, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?

Where you intend to refinance then Principality will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Principality conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Principality conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Principality mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one close by in Lancashire I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Lancashire in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.

I am looking into buying my first house which is in Lancashire and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Lancashire. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Lancashire area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Lancashire. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Lancashire. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I purchased a leasehold flat in Lancashire, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar properties in Lancashire with a long lease are worth £265,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease terminates on 21st October 2101

With 76 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.