My partner and I are hoping to buy a house in Barlaston and are in fact using a Barlaston conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Santander have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Barlaston conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage 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 solicitor should contact your lender 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 Barlaston lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

IfI was to purchase a straightforward homein Barlaston for cash and have no survey and no local authority searches how much should I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Barlaston?

Any savings you would achieve would be limited to the Barlaston conveyancing searches. Your property lawyer still be obliged to do everything else - money laundering, communicating with the vendors conveyancer, stamp duty submission, register the title etc. You might save a bit for them not having to register a mortgage however it won't be significant.

We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The lender mentioned the home loan came with free conveyancing. Is the implication that I have to instruct their panel solicitor as I would much rather instruct a specialised conveyancing solicitor in Barlaston?

Do check but the the probability is that appoint one of their panel conveyancers where you accept the "fee-free" offer. Speak to the lender and explore if they allow a monetary alternative. In the past a few lenders offered a £250 cashback as an alternative in which case that money can go towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor near Barlaston.

What does commercial conveyancing in Barlaston cover?

Non domestic conveyancing in Barlaston covers a wide range of guidance, given by qualified solicitors, relating to business premises. For instance, this type of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more usually, the transfer of existing leases or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial mortgages and the termination of leases.

My partner and I hope to purchase our 1st home in Barlaston. Conveyancing practitioner already selected. The broker suggested that a survey is not appropriate as the house was only constructed in 2001.

You would be best advised to have a Home Buyer's Report. As the premises was constructed more than a decade ago the property will be without a warranty, so you don't want to take a risk. Where a property of this age shows no signs of problems a Home Buyer's report may suffice. The report should highlight any obvious problems and suggest further investigation where relevant. Where there are any indications of material issues obtain a comprehensive Building Survey from the beginning.