I am five weeks into the sale of my home in Valley and the EA has just text me to warn that the purchasers are changing their property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a major mortgage company only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Valley ?

Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.

Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

My husband and I are getting closer to an exchange on a property in Valley and my parents have transferred the 10% deposit to my solicitor. I am now told that as the deposit has been sent from someone other than me my solicitor needs to disclose this to my mortgage company. I am advised that, in also acting for the mortgage company he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I advised the mortgage company concerning my parents' contribution when I applied for the mortgage, so is it really necessary for this now to hold matters up?

Your lawyer is legally required to check with mortgage company to make sure that they understand that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. The solicitor can only report this to your mortgage company if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.

What happens if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the Bank of Ireland Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Valley?

First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Valley what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Valley is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Valley Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

The answer will be helpful as a) areas may cause problems in the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will need to know about it You should be aware if it is no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the property. It is worth checking with your bank that they are content with residual term of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. For most Valleylease extensions you will be required to have owned the residence for a couple of years before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability?

I have been searching for Valley competitive conveyancing fees. Can I be sure that all the Valley law firms that are identified on your website are on the bank conveyancing panel?

The law firms listed on our site have advised us that they are on the mortgage company panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the lender panel. To date we have not been informed by either a mortgage company or a member of the public that the data about a specific Valley firm being on the mortgage company conveyancing panel is not accurate.