My apartment in Canning Town is up for sale and I have accepted an offer. Does the conveyancer need to be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently at the moment.

Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Canning Town ahead of appointing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor has said that some lenders will not grant a loan on a flying freehold premises.

It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you e-mail us we can investigate further via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Canning Town. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

How do I use the search app to find a conveyancing lawyer in Canning Town on the panel for my lender?

Step one is to pick a bank such as Accord Mortgages Ltd, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society or Aldermore then specify your preferred area a common one being Canning Town. Conveyancing practices in Canning Town and nationally will then be listed.

My husband and I are first time buyers - agreed a price, yet the estate agent advised that the vendor will only move forward if we use the agent's preferred solicitors as they want a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a high street conveyancer used to conveyancing in Canning Town

It is highly unlikely the vendors are behind this. Should the owner desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a genuine buyer is not the way to achieve this. Contact the sellers directly and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to go, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you will continue to appoint your preferred Canning Town conveyancing lawyers - as opposed tothose that will give their negotiator at the agency a introducer fee or achieve conveyancing thresholds set by corporate headquarters.

My wife and I have had DIP from Skipton Building Society who indicated we could borrow up to £218k. When do we need to appoint a lawyer for conveyancing? Canning Town is where we are buying.

You can appoint a conveyancer now so that the conveyancer can open the ledger so they can commence their ID checks etc. Once you wish them to start work you will be asked for a payment on account usually about £200. That would normally be after you have the loan offer from your bank and survey report, but if you wish to speed matters you can start sooner albeit risking some expense.