I have just been advised by my lender that my Wingate lawyer is not on the mortgage company Conveyancing panel. What can I do to check?

The best course of action for you to take is to contact your Wingate conveyancer. You lawyer should notify you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a Wingate conveyancing practice that is on the approved list of lawyers for your bank.

we are a couple who are purchasing a newly converted flat in Wingate with a residential mortgage from Skipton Building Society.We like our Wingate conveyancing lawyer but Skipton Building Society says he's not listed on their "panel". We have to appoint a Skipton Building Society panel lawyer or keep our high street solicitor and fork out for a Skipton Building Society panel lawyer to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that Skipton Building Society use our lawyer?

Unfortunately,no. The home loan issued to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will be on the Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel. Until recently, most mortgage companies had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Skipton Building Society

Should my lawyer be asking questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Wingate.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers conducting conveyancing in Wingate. Some people will purchase a house in Wingate, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.

Solicitors are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous searches that can be carried out by the purchaser or by their solicitors which will give them a better appreciation of the risks in Wingate. The conventional set of property information forms supplied to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a standard question of the vendor to determine whether the property has suffered from flooding. If the residence has been flooded in past and is not disclosed by the seller, then a buyer could bring a legal claim for losses as a result of such an inaccurate reply. The buyer’s solicitors may also order an environmental report. This will indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries should be made.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our house can not be found. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Wingate 5 years ago are no longer around. What do I do?

In today’s world there are copies made of almost everything, and your lawyer will be aware exactly where to locate all the relevant paperwork so you may buy or dispose of your property without a hitch. Where copies are not available, your solicitor can put in place insurance or indemnities against future claims on the property.

I am buying a new build flat in Wingate. 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 enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Wingate

Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose?