We are hoping to purchase a 3 bedroom apartment in Netherne with a mortgage. We have a Netherne conveyancer, however the mortgage company says he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little option but to instruct one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or continue with our Netherne solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We feel that this is unjust; can we not insist that the bank use our Netherne solicitor ?

No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose 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 Netherne conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

I have todayfound out that Stirling Law have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Netherne for a purchase of a leasehold flat 18 months ago. How can I establish that the property is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest way to check if the property is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Netherne conveyancing specialists.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Netherne. 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 enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Netherne

Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants.

I opted to have a survey done on a property in Netherne before appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies tend refuse to give a loan on such a premises.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Netherne. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Netherne to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years left on my flat in Netherne. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Netherne.

Having spent years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Netherne. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Netherne conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Netherne flat is 223 Brighton Road in September 2013. The premium payable for the acquisition freehold of the properties should be £10,934 (Ten thousand,nine hundred and thirty four pounds) This case affected 3 flats. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 75 years.