Me and my wife are acquiring a leasehold flat in Newbridge. My lawyer has never been on on the bank approved list. Am I still permitted to appoint my Newbridge conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the bank panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?

You have a couple of choices open to you here

• Complete the deal with your chosen Newbridge lawyer but your lender will no doubt appoint a conveyancing practitioner from their approved panel. This will result in additional charges and likely delay.
• Appoint a new conveyancing practitioner to act in the purchase, obviously checking they are on the bank conveyancing panel.
• Appeal to your lawyer to seek to join the mortgage company panel

I am under pressure from the owner of a property in Newbridge to exchange within four weeks. What can be done to accelerate the conveyancing process?

Where you are under time constraints to exchange it is highly recommended that your solicitor is familiar with the area as they will benefit local relationships and knowledge. It is possible that they may have conducted previoushouses in the same neighbourhood. Therefore consider using a Newbridge conveyancing solicitor. In addition, check that the conveyancing firm is on the lender panel. It is said that 18% of Newbridge conveyancing transactions are frustrated or derailed after finding out that a purchaser’s solicitor was not on their mortgage lender’s panel. This can often result in the transaction being frustrated by an average of three weeks. It is believed that this issue impacts approximately one hundred thousand home moves annually. Almost all Newbridge conveyancing practices can not represent certain lenders so do check as early as possible.

Should conveyancers ask for money on account for conveyancing in Newbridge?

If you are buying a property in Newbridge your lawyer will ask you put them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. Normally this is requested to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. If any deposit is as part of the total price then this will be asked for shortly before exchange of contracts. The final balance that is needed should be transferred a few days prior to the day of completion.

I am looking for a flat up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Newbridge I like with a park and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Newbridge suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?

If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be an issue. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.

I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for some conveyancing in Newbridge. I have discover a web site which looks to be the ideal solution If it is possible to get all formalities done via email that would be ideal. Do I need to be concerned? What are the potential pitfalls?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?