My husband and I are hoping to buy a 1 bedroom apartment in Colerne with a mortgage. We like our Colerne lawyer, however the lender says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or retain our Colerne lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This seems very unfair; can we not require that the mortgage company use our Colerne property lawyer ?

No, not really. Your mortgage offer 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. Another option that might be available is for your Colerne conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

Last October we completed a house move in Colerne. We have noticed several problems with the property which we suspect were missed in the conveyancing searches. Is there anything we can do? Can you clarify the nature of searches that should have been ordered for conveyancing in Colerne?

It is not clear from the question as what problems have arisen and if they are relate to conveyancing in Colerne. Conveyancing searches and due diligence initiated as part of the buying process are designed to help avoid problems. As part of the process, a property owner completes a form known as a Seller’s Property Information Form. answers proves to be inaccurate, you could possibly take legal action against the seller for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Colerne.

My friend recommended that where I am buying in Colerne I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is usually quoted for as part of the standard Colerne conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Colerne around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Colerne Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Colerne.

I was advised by a number of property agents in Colerne to select a property lawyer using your seach tool. Is there a financial advantage for Estate Agents to promote your site rather than another?

We don’t give any referral fee for pointing buyers and sellers to this site. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.

Do lenders provide you with an approved list of Colerne solicitors? How do you know who is on the lender conveyancing panel?

Colerne firms and firms conducting conveyancing in Colerne themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the bank conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from the bank directly.