When it comes to lenders such as RBS, do Wapping lawyers face a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?

We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to be on their panel, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

We have agreed to purchase a house in Wapping. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Clydesdale have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?

As you are obtaining a mortgage with Clydesdale your lawyer must follow the formal requirements contained in Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Clydesdale. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Clydesdale where a lease does not meet these conditions. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not isolated to Wapping.

At last I have had an offer on an apartment in Wapping accepted, but there is a chain. The owners have put an offer on a property, but it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other flats in the pipeline. I have selected a high street conveyancing solicitor in Wapping. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage application with Nationwide started?

It is usual to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses prematurely (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Wapping conveyancing search fees, etc). The first thing to do is ensure that your solicitor is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Regarding the next stages this very much depends on the uniqueness of your case, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot market some buyers will apply for a home loan with Nationwide and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their conveyancer to move forward with the conveyancing in Wapping.

I have recentlyfound out that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Wapping for a purchase of a freehold house 12 months ago. How can I check that my home is not still registered in the name of the former proprietor?

The easiest method to check if the premises 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 Wapping conveyancing specialists.

How does conveyancing in Wapping differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Wapping approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is ready to move into. This is because house builders in Wapping usually acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Wapping or who has acted in the same development.

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Wapping I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Wapping in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could 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 current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.

I have been Googling for Wapping conveyancing quotes online. Can I be confident that all the Wapping practices that are listed on your directory are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel?

The solicitor and licensed conveyancing practices listed on our site have advised us that they are on the lender panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the lender panel. To date we have not been informed by either a lender or a member of the public that the data about a specific Wapping firm being on the bank conveyancing panel is incorrect.