Our lender has suggested solicitors on their panel based in Harwell but I would rather choose a conveyancing lawyer in Harwell round the corner to me. Can you assist?

Not all Harwell conveyancing practices are on all lender’s conveyancing panel. Use the above search tool to identify a Harwell conveyancing firm on the on the mortgage company panel.

If you had a top tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Harwell what would it be?

It would be unwise to be swayed by the cheapest Harwell conveyancing quote. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to property lawyers. 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.

I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in June 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Aldermore are being pedantic. The Harwell solicitor who is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Aldermore are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Aldermore have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Aldermore have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Aldermore may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

My offer was accepted on a property in Harwell on 27/9/2024, valuation was booked 4 days after, all came back fine. Property lawyer appointed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Co-operative and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Co-operative to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

My wife and I have a terraced Victorian property in Harwell. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Barclays Direct. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. Is it worth asking Barclays Direct to clarify?

You should review 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Harwell and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.

I'm buying a new build house in Harwell with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The property agent told me not inform my solicitor about the deal as it could adversely affect my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I decided to have a survey carried out on a property in Harwell ahead of instructing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. The surveyor has said that some banks may refuse to issue a loan on such a home.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can check with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Harwell. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Harwell especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Harwell.