Me and my fiance are intending to purchase a 2 bedroom apartment in Stoke Gifford with a mortgage. We have a Stoke Gifford lawyer, however the bank says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel solicitors or continue with our Stoke Gifford conveyancing practitioner as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We consider that this is inequitable; can we not insist that the mortgage company use our Stoke Gifford solicitor ?

Unfortunately,no. 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 Stoke Gifford conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Stoke Gifford? Why is this being asked of me?

In order to comply with Money Laundering Regulations any Stoke Gifford conveyancing firm will require proof of identity in all conveyancing transactions. This is normally satisfied by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility account evidencing your correct address.

Under Money Laundering Regulations, conveyancers are obliged by law to check not simply the identity of conveyancing clients but also the source of the money that they receive in respect of any matter. An unwillingness to disclose this will result in your lawyer cancelling their relationship with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.

Your property lawyers are duty bound to notify the relevant authorities should they believe that any amounts received by them may contravene the Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules.

My aunt passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Stoke Gifford. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £8000. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Nationwide, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?

If you intend to refinance then Nationwide will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Nationwide 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 Nationwide 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 Nationwide mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

Taking into account that I will soon part with £400,000 on a garden flat in Stoke Gifford I would like to talk to a conveyancer about myconveyancing before appointing the firm. Can this be arranged?

This is something that we recommend - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the solicitor who will be carrying out your property ownership legalities in Stoke Gifford.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique individual, not a file number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are calculated and presented to you for your conveyancing in Stoke Gifford should be the figure that you end up paying.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Stoke Gifford with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stoke Gifford can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers’ lawyers.
The majority of freeholders or Management Companies in Stoke Gifford charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stoke Gifford. Some Stoke Gifford leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Stoke Gifford, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Stoke Gifford with over 90 years remaining are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2083

With just 59 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.