My husband and I are purchasing a purpose built apartment in West Derby with a homeloan from Barnsley Building Society.We would like to retain our West Derby conveyancing solicitor but Barnsley Building Society says she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct a Barnsley Building Society panel firm or keep our high street solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that Barnsley Building Society use our lawyer?

Unfortunately,no. The loan issued to you is subject to its various provisions, one of which will be that solicitors needs to be on the Barnsley Building Society approved list. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could find 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 lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Barnsley Building Society

Do I find a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in West Derby?

There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in West Derby and Solicitor firms in West Derby offering conveyancing It is important to make clear that both are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal work in transferring property. They may both also handle associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.

About to purchase house in West Derby. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the West Derby lawyer is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel.

My sealed bid on a property in West Derby has been accepted, the owners do nevertheless have a tied purchase. The owners have placed an offer on a property, but it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. I have selected a high street conveyancing solicitor in West Derby. What should be my next step? When do I get the mortgage application with Aldermore going?

It is normal to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is in the region of £1k, then survey, West Derby conveyancing search costs, etc). The first thing to do is check that your property lawyer is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Regarding the subsequent stages this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market some home buyers will apply for a home loan with Aldermore and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to proceed with searches.

We are intent on selling our property in West Derby and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. Any high street West Derby conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers used an internet conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in West Derby. Having lived in West Derby for 4 years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to seek clarification need.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in West Derby?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in West Derby. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a West Derby conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a West Derby conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non West Derby conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be useful:

If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

I purchased a basement flat in West Derby, conveyancing formalities finalised June 2007. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in West Derby with a long lease are worth £176,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2105

With 80 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £7,600 and £8,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure 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 additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.