I am need of leasehold conveyancing for an apartment in a relatively new development (seven years built) in Devon. Almost all the appartments are already sold. Is it strictly necessary to order local searches as part of conveyancing in Devon?

A big part of the Devon legal transfer of property is the conveyancing searches. There are hundreds companies who offer Devon conveyancing searches, as well straight from the local authority. These are generally termed personal search organisation due to them carrying out, personal searches. Nevertheless, all Local Authority Search conveyancing products have one thing in common - they must obtain their information from the local authority.

What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Devon

There are many recorded licenced Conveyancers in Devon and Solicitor firms in Devon offering conveyancing It is important to make clear that the two are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal work in transferring property. They may both also deal with other property legal work such as remortgage conveyancing, lease extensions and transfer of equity conveyancing.

Can you help - my lawyer says that breach of easement insurance is required on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Devon?

The right level of breach of easement indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Barclays and Chelsea Building Society. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.

Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Skipton. Devon conveyancing solicitors were selected. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Skipton?

There is no definitive answer here. Have Skipton conducted the valuation? Have you informed Skipton as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Skipton conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Devon prior to instructing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to give a loan on this type of premises.

It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements from Halifax. If you contact us we can look into this further via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Devon. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Devon to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

I am using a search engine for the words conveyancing in Devon it shows results of many conveyancerslocally. With so much choice what is the best way to find the right conveyancing solicitor for my move?

The preferential method of finding the right conveyancer is via trusted recommendation, so seek the opinion of colleagues and relatives who have purchased a property in Devon or the reputable estate agent or mortgage broker. Costs for conveyancing in Devon differ, so it's a good idea to secure at least three estimates from varying types of solicitors. Make sure that you know that the fees are fixed.

My nephew is embarking on her first house purchase, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. After the offer was accepted on apartment we called the building society to progress the mortgage application. I was very surprised to discover that banks do not accept all property lawyer, they have to be on a list, is this legal?

Mortgage Companies normally imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing practices on their approved list of lawyers. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that banks have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Devon solicitor on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Unlikely.