My partner and I are planning to acquire a home in West Beckton and are in fact using a West Beckton conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Norwich and Peterborough Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our West Beckton solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors 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 West Beckton lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

Have just purchased a probate house at auction in West Beckton. Conveyancing is required. What are my next steps?

Now that you have legally committed yourself to purchase you should hire the services of a conveyancing practitioner quickly as you now have a fast approaching deadline in which to complete the purchase. Every auction property will ordinarily have a bespoke legal set of papers. This will likely include most,if not all of the paperwork that your conveyancer will need. If you have purchased leasehold property the legal pack should include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation pertinent to leasehold premises. You need to give this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor at the earliest opportunity. You also need to ensure that your finances are organised to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

My husband and I have organised a further advance on our home loan from Yorkshire BS as we wish to carry out alterations to our property in West Beckton. Do we need to appoint a high street West Beckton solicitor on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?

Yorkshire BS would not normally require a member of their conveyancing panel to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Yorkshire BS list.

I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Co-operative. Is it usual for Co-operative to only issue the offer once my solicitor in West Beckton is approved on their conveyancing panel? Co-operative have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.

A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Co-operative to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I decided to have a survey done on a house in West Beckton ahead of appointing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. The surveyor has said that some mortgage companies will not give a mortgage on a flying freehold home.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can check via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in West Beckton. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

How can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my business premises in West Beckton and how can your lawyers assist?

The 1954 Act affords protection to commercial leaseholders, giving them the legal entitlement to apply to court for a renewal lease and continue in occupation when the lease reaches an end. There are limited grounds that a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are involved. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. West Beckton is one of our numerous areas of the UK in which our lawyers are located

My solicitors in West Beckton have advised me that they can not locate my conveyancing file. To assist with my purchase I took out a mortgage with the lender. Is it case that being on the mortgage company conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a prescribed period?

Different lenders have different requirements but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the bank Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting the lender directly.