AssumingI was to purchase a straightforward propertyin Exmoor for cash and have no survey and no conveyancing searches how much would I expect to to save on my conveyancing in Exmoor?

Any savings you would make would be isolated to the Exmoor conveyancing searches. A property lawyer still got to do everything else - money laundering, liaising with your vendors conveyancing practitioner, stamp duty return, register the title etc. A marginal saving might be made by not having to register a charge but it won't be significant.

Can your site be used to find a Conveyancing solicitor in Exmoor even where I’m not purchasing or disposing of a house, for example where I want to buy a shop in Exmoor with a loan from The Royal Bank of Scotland?

The service is predominantly used to help choose domestic conveyancing solicitors in Exmoor but we have recorded towards the bottom of this page a selection of Exmoor commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to make contact with the firm directly to check if they are also authorised to represent The Royal Bank of Scotland

When it comes to mortgage companies such as Bank of Ireland, do Exmoor property lawyers face an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

We are getting a further advance on our home loan from Nationwide as we wish to conduct a loft conversion to our house in Exmoor. Are we obliged to select a local Exmoor solicitor on the Nationwide conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?

Nationwide don't usually appoint firms on their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Nationwide panel.

Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Virgin Money. Exmoor conveyancing practitioners have been selected. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Virgin Money?

Some lenders take longer than others. Have Virgin Money conducted the valuation? Have you advised Virgin Money as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.

My wife and I have a semi-detached Georgian house in Exmoor. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Bank of Scotland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Exmoor and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also check the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the work.

Am I best advised to go with a Exmoor conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can conduct the legal formalities but they are based 400miles drive away.

The primary upside of using a local Exmoor conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to execute documents, deliver your ID and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local intelligence which is a plus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If other friends have used your friend and they were impressed that must trump using an unfamiliar Exmoor conveyancing lawyer just because they are local.