I was informed today by my broker that my Potswood property lawyer is not on the mortgage company Conveyancing panel. What can I do to check?

The first thing you need to do is to call your Potswood conveyancer. You lawyer should notify you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your mortgage company.

The Potswood conveyancing firm handling our Potswood conveyancing has uncovered an inconsistency between the assumptions in the valuation survey and what is revealed within the title deeds. My lawyer has advised that he is obliged to ensure that the bank is happy with this discrepancy and is content to go ahead. Is my solicitor’s approach correct?

Your solicitor must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on last month in what should have been a quick, chain free conveyancing. Potswood is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Potswood are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Potswood you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Potswood may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.

I am looking for a conveyancing solicitor in Potswood for my sale. Is there any facility to check a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?

You can read presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions stemming from inquisitions started on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find information Pre 2008, or to check a firm's history, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For non-uk callers, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may monitor telephone calls for training reasons.

We have been told by various estate agents that it may take 6-8 weeks for Potswood conveyancing to complete.This was 3 ago. The draft contract was only received to my lawyer a couple of days ago so does the time start running now?

You should be pragmatic concerning timelines. Conveyancing in Potswood usually takes about two months. This time period is not due to property lawyer being slow and purposely delay matters. The level of money involved in buying any property is so high, the buyer’s conveyancer having to carry out a wide range of queries, searches and other checks to protect the buyer and their lender (if there is to be a home loan) from expensive, avoidable problems. Conveyancing in Potswood involves obtaining information from various third parties, for example other conveyancer, local councils, private companies, lenders. Some of these are well organised. Plenty are not. It is worth noting that, no matter how quickly your conveyancing practitioner do their work, if the people you are purchasing from or are selling to aren't ready, nothing can move forward until they are up to speed.