Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my conveyancer in Murton is not on my mortgage company's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of her work?

That is more than likely an incorrect assumption to make. There are plenty of reasonable explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Should you be concerned you should contact the Murton conveyancing firm and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.

Our bank has suggested solicitors on their panel based in Murton but I would rather instruct a conveyancing lawyer in Murton round the corner to me. Are you able to help?

The minority of Murton conveyancing practices are on all lender’s conveyancing panel. Do make use of our search tool to choose a Murton conveyancing solicitor on the on the bank panel.

Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Murton. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I would like to complain about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?

All banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.

I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Murton. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £200. A few days later, the conveyancer called me to say that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I had an offer accepted on an apartment in Murton on 30/9/2024, valuation was booked 3 days later, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Coventry BS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Are Coventry BS entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Coventry BS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Murton. Conveyancing is daunting 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 conveyancing.

Here are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Murton

Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Please supply a car parking plan. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose?

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Murton where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Murton conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

I acquired a 1st floor flat in Murton, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Murton with over 90 years remaining are worth £255,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2097

You have 73 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.