I am selling my ground floor flat in Kingston Park and the estate agent has just called to advise that the buyers are switching property lawyer. The excuse is that the lender will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named mortgage company only work with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Kingston Park ?

Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for many years.

Lending institutions justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

What is your number one tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Kingston Park

We would encourage you not to go for the lowest Kingston Park conveyancing quote. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.

We previously instructed solicitors with offices in Kingston Park on the Principality solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a separate amount for handling the Principality mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Principality?

Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitor is entitled to charge a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Principality but by your Kingston Park lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Principality panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.

We are getting the release of further funds on our mortgage from Yorkshire BS as we intend to carry out renovations to our house in Kingston Park. Are we obliged to appoint a nearby Kingston Park solicitor on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?

Yorkshire BS would not normally instruct firms on their conveyancing panel to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Yorkshire BS list.

We are intent on selling our property in Kingston Park and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. A local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers are using a factory type conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Kingston Park. Having lived in Kingston Park for three years we know of no issue. Should we contact our local Authority to get clarification need.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You need to 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 health insurance to cover that same ailment)

Last September I purchased a leasehold flat in Kingston Park. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Kingston Park, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable flats in Kingston Park with a long lease are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2094

You have 68 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

We had our mortgage agreed in principle yesterday with our lender. We instructed a local conveyancer in Kingston Park two days ago. This morning, our financial adviser contacted us saying that the lender said that we cannot use our solicitor as they aren't on their 'approved list'. As novices, we had no idea that the lender had a say Is this legal?

You are permitted to appoint any property lawyer you prefer to choose including the said conveyancer in Kingston Park however if your lender aren't happy with them you would have to fork out additional cost so your bank can appoint their own solicitors as well to protect their interest. On occasion it is possible your preferred conveyancing firm to get included on to the bank list of approved firms. Do make the most of internet tools such as lenderpanel.com to find a conveyancing solcitor in Kingston Park on the bank panel. You can go into your high street lender branch in Kingston Park. They will know some good conveyancing solicitors in Kingston Park on the panel for your bank.