I had intended to instruct a property lawyer in Arley for our house move. Our financial adviser informed us that our mortgage lenders Alliance & Leicester won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unduly restrictive?

Lenders on the whole imposes restrictions either the category or the number of conveyancing solicitors on their approved list of lawyers. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a law practice must have two or more partners. As well as restricting the profile of firm, some have reduced the amount of solicitor practices they permit to act for them. You should note that Alliance & Leicester have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Alliance & Leicester Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a primary driver in the reduction of conveyancing panels a few years ago even though there remains differing views concerning the level of solicitor engagement in some of that fraud. Figures from the Land Registry reveal that plenty of law firms, including some in or near Arley only carry out very few conveyances a year.

Please help - my lawyer advises that lack of planning permission insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Arley conveyancing?

The right level of lack of planning permission indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Yorkshire Building Society and The Mortgage Works. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.

We had instructed solicitors locally in Arley on the Virgin Money solicitor approved list. They are now charging me an additional sum for the legal aspects of the Virgin Money mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Virgin Money?

Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your conveyancer can charge a fee for this. The fee is not set by Virgin Money but by your Arley property lawyer. Some firms on the Virgin Money panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.

Our offer on a semi in Arley has been agreed to, the sellers do nevertheless have a dependent purchase. The vendors have put an offer on somewhere, however it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. I have instructed a local conveyancing solicitor in Arley. What do I do now? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with TSB?

It is understandable to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (mortgage application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then survey, Arley conveyancing search costs, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your property lawyer is on the TSB approved list. Regarding the next stages this very much depends on the specifics of your transaction, attraction to this property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market the majority of home buyers will apply for the mortgage with TSB and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their solicitor to press on with the conveyancing in Arley.

Me and my brother purchased a renovated Victorian property in Arley. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and The Royal Bank of Scotland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Arley and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the conveyancing.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Arley. 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.

Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Arley

Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided.

Am I better off to choose a Arley conveyancing lawyer based in the vicinity that I am purchasing? I have an old university friend who can conduct the legal formalities however her office is 200miles drive away.

The benefit of a high street Arley conveyancing firm is that you can drop in to sign documents, present your ID and pester them if necessary. They will also have local insight which is a bonus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and in the main were impressed that must outweigh using an unfamiliar Arley conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being Arley based.