Me and my partner are purchasing a 1 bedroom apartment in Limbury with a mortgage. We have a Limbury conveyancer, however the bank says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel solicitors or keep our Limbury lawyer and pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Limbury conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

My grandmother passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Limbury. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £8000. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Principality, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?

Given you intend to refinance then Principality will require that you use a conveyancer on the Principality conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Principality conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Principality mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

Me and my partner are buying a house in Limbury. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we have 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.

We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Clydesdale. Limbury conveyancing solicitors were chosen. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Clydesdale?

There is no definitive answer here. Have Clydesdale done the survey? Have you advised Clydesdale as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

I can not work out if my bank requires a lease extension. I have called my Limbury bank branch on a couple of occasions and was reassured it wasn't a problem and they would lend. My Limbury conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called to say that they would not lend in accordance with their specific requirements. Who do I believe?

Your conveyancing practitioner has to comply with the CML Handbook Part 2 specifications for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

I am buying a new build flat in Limbury. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Here are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Limbury

Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease.

Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Limbury prior to instructing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor has said that some lenders will not issue a mortgage on a flying freehold premises.

It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different requirements for example to Nationwide. If you contact us we can check via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Limbury. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.