It is a dozen years since I purchased my home in Nether Edge. Conveyancing lawyers have just been instructed on the sale but I can't locate my deeds. Is this a problem?

Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be with the mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in your purchase. Secondly in all probability the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Nether Edge relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.

My husband and I are buying a 3 bedroom apartment in Nether Edge with a loan from Platform Home Loans Ltd.We have a Nether Edge conveyancing practitioner but Platform Home Loans Ltd says her practice is not listed on their "panel". we are left little option but to use a Platform Home Loans Ltd panel firm or keep our local solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. The loan offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, a common one being that lawyers will be on the Platform Home Loans Ltd solicitor panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find 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 lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Platform Home Loans Ltd

This question may be naive but I am wet behind the ears as FTB of a ground floor flat in Nether Edge. Do I pick up the keys to the property on the completion date from my lawyer? If so, I will use a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Nether Edge?

On the day of completion you will not be required to go to the conveyancers office in Nether Edge. Conveyancing lawyers for you will transfer the purchase money to the owner’s solicitors, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be invited to receive the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.

I'm the only beneficiary of my late grandmother’s will and I have everything in my name now, including the my former home in Nether Edge. The Nether Edge property was put into my name in December. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', meaning my property ownership may be regarded the same way as if I'd bought the property in December. Do I have to wait 6 months to sell?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook requires solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be affected by that. How sensible a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the bank as this requirement chiefly exists to capture subsales or the quick reselling of property.

It is unclear whether my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Nether Edge bank branch on numerous occasions and was told it wasn't an issue and they would lend. My Nether Edge conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called and was told they refuse to lend based on their specific requirements. Who do I believe?

The conveyancing practitioner must follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook section two specifications for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank 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 left on the lease.

I used Action Conveyancing a few years past for my conveyancing in Nether Edge. Now, I need my files but the law firm has closed. What do I do?

Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Nether Edge of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I require the services of a lender panel solicitor in Nether Edge. Could you help me?

Unfortunately it’s not apparent why you need a Nether Edge panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to the bank to find out which solicitors in Nether Edge are on their panel . If you do find such a firm in Nether Edge not listed please direct them to our site to list. After all the cost is only one £1 a month