I sincerely hope you can assist me. My Keynsham lawyer is assuring me that he is legally obliged toorder Keynsham conveyancing searches due to the fact thatthe firm are on the Lloydsconveyancing panel. Is my conveyancer correct?

Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. Given that you are taking out a loan with a bank your conveyancer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook specifications . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Keynsham conveyancing searches.

I used Action Conveyancing several years ago for my conveyancing in Keynsham. I now require my file but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Keynsham of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

We're first time buyers - agreed a price, yet the agent told us that the seller will only proceed if we appoint their recommended conveyancers as they want a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a high street conveyancer accustomed to conveyancing in Keynsham

We suspect that the seller is unaware of this request. If they want ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a genuine purchaser is likely to cause more damage than good. Speak to the owners direct and explain that (a)you are genuine buyers (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you have nothing to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you are going to use your own,trusted Keynsham conveyancing firm - not the ones that will earn their negotiator at the agency a referral fee or hit his conveyancing thresholds pre-set by senior management.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Keynsham both have approximately 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Keynsham is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Keynsham conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Keynsham - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

How much is the ground rent and service charge? Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the building? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?

We had our mortgage approved last Friday with our bank. We instructed a high street conveyancer in Keynsham yesterday. Today, our mortgage adviser contacted us saying that the bank said that we cannot use our solicitor as they aren't on their panel. As FTB's, we had no idea that the mortgage company had a say Is this usual?

You are at liberty to instruct any conveyencer you want to appoint for your conveyancing in Keynsham but if your bank aren't happy with them you will have to fork out an extra fee so your lender can instruct their own conveyancer too. On occasion it is conceivable that your solicitor may apply to get added to the lender list of approved firms. You can use online search facilities such as lenderpanel.com to find a conveyancing solcitor in Keynsham on the mortgage company panel. You can go into your high street lender branch in Keynsham. They will know some good conveyancing solicitors in Keynsham on the panel for your bank.