My husband and I are looking to buy a flat in Temple Fortune and are in fact using a Temple Fortune conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Leeds Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Temple Fortune conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 property lawyer should contact your mortgage company 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 Temple Fortune solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

My bid for a property was accepted at auction in Temple Fortune. Conveyancing is necessary. What are my next steps?

Having to all intents and purposes signed on the dotted line you should choose a conveyancing lawyer as a matter of priority as you are facing a pending deadline in which to complete the deal. All auction property will have a bespoke legal set of papers. This will likely include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. If you have purchased leasehold property the auction pack should contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation pertinent to a leasehold property. You should pass this on to your appointed conveyancing solicitor at the earliest opportunity. Do make sure that you have funds in order to complete on the date specified in the contract.

I am expecting a DIP from Nottingham this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Nottingham recommend any Temple Fortune solicitors on the Nottingham conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?

You will need to appoint Temple Fortune solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Nottingham through the process.

My offer was accepted on an apartment in Temple Fortune on 8/1/2025, valuation was booked 3 days later, all came back fine. Property lawyer appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Nottingham and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. Are Nottingham entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Nottingham to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Temple Fortune. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Temple Fortune

Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? 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. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose?

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. Temple Fortune is the location of the property. Can you offer any assistance?

Flying freeholds in Temple Fortune 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 Temple Fortune you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Temple Fortune may determine 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 property.

My husband and I are first time buyers - agreed a price, but the estate agent informed us that the seller will only proceed if we instruct the agent's recommended conveyancers as they want a ‘quick sale’. Our preferred option is to instruct a high street solicitor accustomed to conveyancing in Temple Fortune

It is improbable the vendors are behind this. Should the vendor require ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a motivated buyer is not the way to achieve this. Bypass the agents and go straight to the owners and explain that (a)you are genuine purchasers (b)you are ready to go, with mortgage lined up © you have nothing to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you will continue to use your preferred Temple Fortune conveyancing solicitors - as opposed tothe ones that will give their negotiator at the agency a kickback or hit his conveyancing targets demanded by corporate headquarters.