we are a couple who are buying a purpose built apartment in Alvaston with a mortgage from Santander.We have a Alvaston conveyancing practitioner but Santander says he's not listed on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct a Santander panel solicitor or keep our local solicitor and fork out for a Santander panel lawyer to act for them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Santander use our lawyer?

Unfortunately,no. The loan offered to you is subject to its various provisions, a common one being that solicitors will be on the Santander conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose 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. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Santander

I completed on my apartment on 7 June and my personal details is yet to be registered. Need I be worried? My conveyancing solicitor in Alvaston advises it should be dealt with inside ten days. Are transfers in Alvaston uniquely lengthy to register?

As far as conveyancing in Alvaston registration is no quicker or slower than the rest of England and Wales. Rather than based on location, timeframes can adjust depending on who lodges the application, whether it is in order and if the Land registry must send notices to any 3rd persons or bodies. At present roughly three quarters of such applications are fully addressed in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be extensive hold-ups. Registration occurs after the buyer has moved in to the property thus post completion formalities is not always top priority but where it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your solicitor should speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.

How does conveyancing in Alvaston differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in Alvaston contact us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because developers in Alvaston typically buy the real estate, 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Alvaston or who has acted in the same development.

Hoping to buy a property located in Alvaston and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Alvaston. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Alvaston area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Alvaston. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Alvaston. Conveyancing has not commenced, however I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge as normal given that all rents and service invoices should be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Alvaston - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? The best form of lease structure is where the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. If a Alvaston lease has no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the property. Check with your lender that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will probably need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the residence for a couple of years in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension.