I am selling my house in Delabole and the EA has just telephoned to advise that the buyers are switching solicitor. The excuse is that the bank will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a major mortgage company only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Delabole ?

Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.

Lending institutions attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices 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. Your buyers are not going to have any impact on this.

My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Delabole. I need to find out if they are accepted on the conveyancing panel. Could you advise?

You should call the solicitor and ask them whether they are on the lender panel. Alternatively please call who may be able to assist.

I decided to have a survey done on a house in Delabole prior to appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor has said that some banks may not issue a loan on such a premises.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Halifax. If you contact us we can investigate further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Delabole. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

Given that I am about to part with hundreds of thousands of pounds on a terraced house in Delabole I wish to talk to a lawyer regarding thehome move before appointing the firm. Can this be arranged?

Absolutely - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the lawyer who will be doing your property ownership legalities in Delabole.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique individual, not a file number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are quoted for your conveyancing in Delabole should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.

I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Delabole. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, however I have recently received a quarterly service charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice as usual because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Delabole Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying

The best form of lease structure is if the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the lessees benefit from control and even though a managing agent is often retained if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. What is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent? The answer will be important as a) areas may result in problems in the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to have all the details