I am acquiring a flat in Grantham. My property lawyer is not listed on the lender solicitor list. Is it possible for me to appoint my Grantham conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the bank panel?

Various options include

• Proceed with your preferred Grantham solicitor but your bank will undoubtedly use a property lawyer on their conveyancing panel. The net result is additional fees and likely interruption.
• Choose a fresh conveyancer to act in the purchase, obviously checking they are on the bank conveyancing panel.
• Convince your lawyer to pull out all the stops to get listed on the lender’s panel of solicitors

We are selling our flat in Grantham. Does my property lawyer need to be on the UBS conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the UBS 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 panel criteria fairly frequently currently.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Grantham. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Here are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Grantham

There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Please supply a car parking plan. The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision.

Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Grantham before appointing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some banks tend refuse to issue a mortgage on this type of house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Grantham. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

My partner and I are purchasing a 2 bedroom flat in Grantham. When we first instructed solicitor, they assured us that they were on all major UK lender panels. The mortgage broker contacted us today to advise that they are not on the Aldermore approved list. Were it to be true, what should we do? Do we simply find a new property lawyer that is on their panel or should we cover the costs for separate representation, with Aldermore selecting their own approved conveyancer.

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is normal for the buyer’s solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a conveyancing practitioner has to be on that lender's list of approved lawyers. An application has to be made by the lawyer to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict conditions which the conveyancing practitioner has to satisfy. Some lenders now insist their panel firms to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact Aldermore to find out if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on Aldermore's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Grantham solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another property lawyer into the mix.