My partner and I are planning to acquire a flat in Gunnersbury and have appointed a Gunnersbury conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Yorkshire Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Gunnersbury lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Gunnersbury lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

At what point does exchange of contracts occur in domestic conveyancing in Gunnersbury and do I need to be at the conveyancers branch?

Where you are round the corner to our conveyancing solicitors in Gunnersbury you are welcome to come in to sign the paperwork. That being said, the law practices we recommend offer countrywide coverage for conveyancing and give just as detailed and professional a job for you when dealing with you digitally. The signing of the sale agreement is not the important part. Signing on the dotted line is just a prerequisite for the solicitor to address the formalities at the appropriate time, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The exchange process is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where a long "chain" is in play, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Gunnersbury)to be in the office at the appropriate time.

I am helping my step-mother sell her property in Gunnersbury. Does the solicitor arrange the EPC or do I organise this?

Following the demise of Home Information Packs, EPC’s was kept a required component of selling a property. An energy assessment must be to hand prior to the property being marketed. It is not as aspect of the sale process that law firms ordinarily organise. Where you are using a Gunnersbury conveyancing solicitor they might be willing to arrange EPC’s due to their contacts with long established local providers

We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Bank of Ireland. Gunnersbury conveyancing practitioners have been appointed. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Bank of Ireland?

Some lenders take longer than others. Have Bank of Ireland conducted the valuation? Have you advised Bank of Ireland as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.

Nationwide have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a apartment in Gunnersbury has been agreed to, now what?

Your estate agent will want to be advised as to your conveyancing practitioner's details (be sure the lawyers are on the lender’s approved list). Call up Nationwide or the financial adviser and finish off any relevant paperwork. Nationwide will sellect a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to book a slot for the valuation to happen. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes on average a week to receive the mortgage offer. Nationwide will send the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Gunnersbury.

I require fast conveyancing in Gunnersbury as I am faced with a deadline to sign on the dotted line inside 2 weeks. Thankfully I do not need a mortgage. Is it possible to avoid the conveyancing searches to save fees and time?

As you are not obtaining a mortgage you have the choice not to do searches although no solicitor would suggest that you don't. Drawing on our experience of conveyancing in Gunnersbury the following are instances of what can show up and adversely impact future saleability: Enforcement Notices, Overdue Charges, Overdue Grants, Road Schemes,...

I need to switch lawyers as my Gunnersbury lawyer is not on the bank's panel of conveyancing solicitors. Is it advisable to appoint a new law firm?

If you haven't yet instructed a solicitor to commence the conveyancing and have just received quotes, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer in Gunnersbury that you're considering.