I selected a Spondon based solicitor for my conveyancing in Spondon today. After carefully reading the Ts and Cs it is apparent thatI am responsible for costs even if the dealfalls through. Should I go with them or choose an on-line solicitor practice promoting no completion no charge conveyancing in Spondon?

It is usually a trade off in that if "No Completion No Fee" is offered then the fee levels will generally be more expensive to counteract those conveyances that do not proceed. Dont forget that these promotions generally do not protect you from disbursements e.g. Spondon conveyancing search charges.

Are all Spondon Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Santander conveyancing list of approved solicitors?

It is true that some banks and building societies now utilise CQS as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.

I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in July 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Yorkshire BS are being pedantic. The Spondon solicitor who is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Yorkshire BS are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Yorkshire BS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Yorkshire BS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Yorkshire BS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

I have finally had an offer on a flat in Spondon agreed to, the vendors do nevertheless have a dependent purchase. The owners have offered on somewhere, however it’s not yet tied up, and are looking at other properties in the pipeline. I have chosen a high street conveyancing solicitor in Spondon. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage application with Skipton going?

It is understandable to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses prematurely (mortgage application is approx £1k, then valuation, Spondon conveyancing search charges, etc). The first thing to do is check that your lawyer is on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Regarding the subsequent steps this very much depends on the specifics of your case, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market the majority of home buyers will apply for the mortgage with Skipton and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their solicitor to proceed with searches.

I have todaydiscovered that Action Conveyancing have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Spondon for a purchase of a leasehold flat 10 months ago. How can I check that my home is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest way to see if the property is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Spondon conveyancing specialists.

We're first time buyers - agreed a price, yet the agent advised that the owners will only move forward if we instruct the agent's preferred lawyers as they are insisting on an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a local solicitor used to conveyancing in Spondon

It is improbable the owners are driving this. Should the owner desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a motivated buyer is is going to put the whole deal at risk. Avoid the agents and go straight to the sellers and make the point that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you have nothing to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you will continue to use your own,trusted Spondon conveyancing lawyers - as opposed tothose that will provide their negotiator at the agency a referral fee or meet his conveyancing targets set by senior management.

My step-son is about to join the property ladder, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. When the offer was accepted on apartment we rang the mortgage institution to issue the formal offer. We were very surprised to discover that mortgage companies do not accept all solicitor, they have to be on a list, is this correct?

Mortgage Companies ordinarily restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing solicitors on their approved list of lawyers. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that lenders have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Spondon conveyancing practitioner on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Probably not.