Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my conveyancer in Oxshott is not listed on my bank's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of the firm’s work?

It would not be wise to jump to that conclusion. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator indicated that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) lack 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 simply call the Oxshott conveyancing firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.

I'm the sole recipient of my late father’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Oxshott. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in October. I want to move. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship could be considered the same way as though I had purchased the property in October. Do I have to wait 6 months to sell?

The CML handbook mandates conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you may be impacted by that. Some lenders would take a pragmatic view as this clause chiefly exists to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the flipping of properties.

I have a mortgage with Yorkshire BS for my property in Oxshott. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Yorkshire BS?

Your original mortgage agreement with Yorkshire BS will provide that you need their approval prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Yorkshire BS’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Yorkshire BS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel solicitor.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Oxshott. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £200. Not long after, the property lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Coventry BS 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 Coventry BS 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 am buying a new build apartment in Oxshott. 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 conveyancing.

Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Oxshott

Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? 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. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision.

I am 3 weeks into a freehold purchase having been directed to a firm by the high street agent to do our conveyancing in Oxshott. I am not happy. Could you you assist me in finding new solicitors?

A solicitor would have to be very poor to suggest diss instructing them. Has your loan offer been generated? In the event that it has you need to advise them of the new contact details and have the loan are issued to the new lawyers. Your new solicitor ideally should be on the lenders approved list to avoid added costs and complications. That should be your first question of the new solicitors. Our search tool will help you find a lender approved conveyancer for your home move in Oxshott

I own a leasehold flat in Oxshott. Conveyancing was finalised in 21012. I have been told that I mustn’t let the lease length get too short. What is the reasoning?

Oxshott leasehold properties are for a set term - normally just under one hundred years when they started. However many appartments in Oxshott were built or converted in the 70’s80’s and so such leases now have under eighty years unexpired. This may sound like plenty of time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage companies generally require leases to have a minimum of seventy five years left to adequate security. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are nearing eighty years. To enhance your property value you should be considering whether to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. Furthermore advantages to doing so before the lease reaches even 80 years as when the lease is less than 80 years the premium to be paid to extend starts to escalate.