My solicitor has discovered a defect with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Stoke Sub Hamdon. The seller’s lawyers have suggested title insurance as a solution. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our conveyancing practitioner says that he must be satisfied that the mortgage company is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company ?

The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the bank can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your solicitor will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.

Is it the case that all Stoke Sub Hamdon solicitor firms on the RBS conveyancing panel are governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the RBS conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. The majority of lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the firms would be governed by the CLC.

I am selling my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in May 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Co-operative are being a right pain. The Stoke Sub Hamdon solicitor who is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Co-operative are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Co-operative have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Co-operative have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Co-operative may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

My offer was accepted on a property in Stoke Sub Hamdon on 2/1/2025, valuation was booked 2 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 Santander and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Santander to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Santander conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I opted to have a survey carried out on a house in Stoke Sub Hamdon before instructing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor has said that some banks will not grant a loan on a flying freehold property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements from Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Stoke Sub Hamdon. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Stoke Sub Hamdon to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

We're new on the property ladder - agreed a price, but the property agent advised that the vendor will only go ahead if we instruct the agent's recommended conveyancers as they want a ‘quick sale’. We would rather use a local conveyancer who is familiar with conveyancing in Stoke Sub Hamdon

It is highly unlikely the sellers are behind this. If they require ‘a quick sale', alienating a serious buyer is likely to cause more damage than good. Speak to the owners direct and explain that (a)you are motivated buyers (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances arranged © you do not need to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you will continue to appoint your own,trusted Stoke Sub Hamdon conveyancing lawyers - not the ones that will provide the negotiator at the agency a kickback or achieve conveyancing figures demanded by senior management.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Stoke Sub Hamdon. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Stoke Sub Hamdon who previously acted has long since retired. Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Stoke Sub Hamdon conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Stoke Sub Hamdon - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

The answer will be useful as a) areas can cause problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have full disclosure Be sure to investigate if the the lease contains any adverse restrictions in the lease. By way of example it is reasonably common in Stoke Sub Hamdon leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Stoke Sub Hamdon. If you love the flatin Stoke Sub Hamdon yet your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced hard choice.