We are buying a 2 bedroom apartment in Willen with a mortgage. We have a Willen solicitor, however the bank says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or continue with our Willen solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We regard this is unjust; is there anything we can do?

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. Another option that might be available is for your Willen conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

Can the conveyancing lawyers to be found on your site carry out auction conveyancing in Willen?

We know of a few auction lawyers we can connect you with those specialising in auction conveyancing. Willen is just one of hundreds of locations in which our lawyers cover.

What tools are available to identify a Willen solicitor on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am willing to travel upto 20kilometers to meet the solicitor.

Feel free to make use of the search on this page. Please pick a lender and your location and you will see a number of Willen conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have detailed some Willen conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can ring them to verify if they are on the Bank of Scotland member panel

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Willen. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Willen who previously acted has long since retired. Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Willen conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Willen, conveyancing was carried out 4 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in Willen with an extended lease are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2092

With just 67 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £10,500 and £12,000 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Our conveyancer in Willen has uncovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the property we are purchasing in Willen. The other side have offered title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor has advised that as he is on the bank conveyancing panel he must be satisfied that the lender 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 bank are the client. A precondition to being on the bank approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that the mortgage company 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 lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.