My wife and I are hoping to acquire a flat in Sherborne and have instructed a Sherborne conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Clydesdale have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Sherborne solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Sherborne solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

Would the conveyancing lawyers listed on your site handle auction conveyancing in Sherborne?

There are a number of auction solicitors we can connect you with those conducting auction conveyancing. Sherborne is one of the many areas of where our lawyers have a presence.

I am downsizing from our property in Sherborne and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. Any high street Sherborne lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers are using a nationwide conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Sherborne. Having lived in Sherborne for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to seek clarification that there is no issue.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer already. What do they say? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)

I am buying a new build apartment in Sherborne. 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 selection of leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Sherborne

If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. 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. Please supply a car parking plan.

In searching the internet for the words conveyancing in Sherborne it reveals numerous solicitorsin the vicinity. How do I determine which is the right solicitor for purchase transaction?

The preferential way of finding the right conveyancer is via personal testimonial, so ask friends and relatives who have bought a property in Sherborne or a respected estate agent or mortgage broker. Fees for conveyancing in Sherborne vary, so it's a good idea to secure at least three quotes from varying types of solicitors. Be sure to obtain confirmation that the fees are fixed.