We are buying a 3 bedroom flat in Berwick Upon Tweed with a mortgage. We like our Berwick Upon Tweed solicitor, however the lender advise he's not on their "panel". It seems we have no choice but to use one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or keep our Berwick Upon Tweed conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We regard this is unjust; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s 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. A further alternative is for your Berwick Upon Tweed conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

Have just purchased a repossessed house at auction in Berwick Upon Tweed. Conveyancing is necessary. What happens now?

Given that you are now legally bound yourself to purchase you should retain a conveyancing lawyer soon as you will have a tight a drop dead date to complete the transaction. All auction property should have a corresponding legal pack. This should include evidence of title and search results. In the case of leasehold property the legal papers should contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation specific to a leasehold property. You should hand this to the solicitor instructed by you ASAP. You also need to ensure that that you have the requisite funding in order to complete on the date specified in the contract.

We are buying a end of terrace house in Berwick Upon Tweed. We would like to an extension at the rear at the property.Will legal conveyancing on the property include investigations to determine if these alterations are prohibited?

Your property lawyer will review the deeds as conveyancing in Berwick Upon Tweed can on occasion identify restrictions in the title documents which restrict certain alterations or need the consent of a 3rd party. Certain extensions need local authority planning consent and approval in compliance with building regulations. Some areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. It would be prudent to check these things with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.

When it comes to lenders such as TSB, do Berwick Upon Tweed conveyancing practitioners have to pay a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are unaware of any bank fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

Should our conveyancer be asking questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Berwick Upon Tweed.

Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers dealing with homes in Berwick Upon Tweed. Plenty of people will buy a house in Berwick Upon Tweed, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.

Conveyancers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous checks that may be undertaken by the buyer or by their lawyers which should figure out the risks in Berwick Upon Tweed. The conventional set of information sent to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a usual question of the seller to discover if the premises has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred and is not revealed by the vendor, then a buyer may issue a compensation claim as a result of such an inaccurate reply. The purchaser’s solicitors should also conduct an environmental search. This will indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, further investigations will need to be carried out.

It has been 2 months following my purchase conveyancing in Berwick Upon Tweed concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

Why can't I complete our conveyancing in Berwick Upon Tweed on a public holiday?

This is due to the fact that on completion the sale price needs to be transferred electronically between the banks of the purchaser and owner’s property lawyer and at present this can only occur on a working day. It is not possible to complete on a weekend either.