My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Fairlop. I I would like to check if they are on the HSBC Bank approved list of lawyers. Can you assist?

You should call your lawyer and enquire if they can act for the lender. Alternatively you should call HSBC Bank who may be able to help.

I'm in the process of looking at houses in Fairlop and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it advisable to have my conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I intend to finance via a home loan with TSB.

It would be prudent to instigate your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the selling agent. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with TSB, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the TSB conveyancing panel.

After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Fairlop. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £200. Soon after, the conveyancer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Aldermore panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

Having digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Fairlop solicitor - who is on the TSB conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?

TSB will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually TSB will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Fairlop surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

My partner and I are downsizing from our home in Fairlop and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. A local lawyer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the buyers instructed a national conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Fairlop. Having lived in Fairlop for six years we know of no issue. Should we contact our local Authority to seek clarification that the buyers are looking for.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer already. Are they able to advise? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same illness)

My wife and I purchased a 4 bedroom Georgian property in Fairlop. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Leeds Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Fairlop and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing lawyer who carried out the work.

About to purchase a new build apartment in Fairlop. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Here are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Fairlop

Please supply a car parking plan. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal.