Do the Building Society Association intend to launch a online directory to list firms on the Melton Mowbray Building Society conveyancing panel for instance in St James?
We are not aware of any intention on the part of the BSA to develop such a search facility.
Me and my partner are buying a flat in St James. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we will need to put money into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our money?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
is it true that all St James solicitor firms on the Barclays conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Barclays approved list of solicitors they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the firms would be regulated by the CLC.
We had appointed conveyancing lawyers based in St James on the HSBC solicitor approved list. They are now charging me an additional amount for the legal aspects of the HSBC mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by HSBC?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your conveyancer may levy a fee for this. The fee is not set by HSBC but by your St James conveyancing practitioner. Numerous firms on the HSBC panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but many firms incorporate it on their overall fee.
My wife and I own a terraced Georgian house in St James. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Bank of Ireland. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in St James and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.
Given that I am about to spend over three hundred thousand on a property in St James I wish to have a conversation with the lawyer about myconveyancing ahead of instructing the firm. Can this be arranged?
This is something that we encourage - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the lawyer who will be doing your conveyancing in St James.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique person, not a case reference. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are calculated and presented to you for your conveyancing in St James should be the figure that you end up paying.
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in St James where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local St James conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.
I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can one apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a St James conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?
if there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the price.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a St James property is Flats 12A & 19, Evelyn Mansions Carlisle Place in June 2009. The Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the new lease of Flat 12A is £168,824, For the other flat the price was set at £169,110 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 56 years.
We have just found out that one of the partners of the law firm acting on the purchase conveyancing in St James is a relative of the seller. Is this permitted?
Provided there is no conflict of interest this is allowable. Where you are needing a home loan then the bank may have a say as many lenders have specific instructions concerning this. For example for Santander A&L as of 10/4/2026, the requirements read as follows :