I plan on acquiring a leasehold flat in Braintree. My lawyer has never been on on the bank approved panel. Am I still permitted to use my Braintree conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the lender approved list?

Various options include

• Carry on with your existing Braintree lawyer but your lender will need to use a conveyancer from their approved list. This will result in additional fees and likely interruption.
• Choose a new conveyancing practitioner to conduct the conveyancing, obviously checking they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel.
• Convince your property lawyer to seek to join the bank panel

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home are lost. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Braintree 4 years ago have long since closed. What are my next steps?

Gone are the days when you need to have the physical deeds to prove you are the registered proprietor of land or premises, as the Land Registry have everything they need in a digital format.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Braintree I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, however it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Braintree for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

If you require a home loan that many years may be problematic. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.

Should I be wary by 3rd parties that I am dealing with are recommending a nationwide conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Braintree conveyancing practice?

As with lots of service providers, often input from connections can be most helpful. Yet there are lots of people with a keen interest in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders may suggest conveyancers to appoint. Sometimes the lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but occasionally there behind the scenes financial incentive behind the recommendation. You have the right to appoint your own lawyer. However, bear in mind that the majority of lenders have an approved list of conveyancers you have to use for the lender aspect of your transaction.

It has taken forever and a day but a loan agreement from a bank for the refinancing of my 4 bedroom maisonette is due by the end of next week. Could you recommend a low cost remortgage conveyancing practitioner in Braintree ?

You have come to the wrong place to search for the cheapest conveyancing solicitors in Braintree. Our aim is to provide value for money conveyancing but we do not advertise as being the cheapest. Avoid the trap of appointing brokers offering £99 conveyancing in Braintree.In your best case scenario, in going for cheap conveyancing, you will get what you pay for and at worst you will end up invoiced for extras and still not receive the service expected.