My wife and I are looking to buy a flat in Holywell and have instructed a Holywell conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Santander have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Holywell conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Holywell solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

Me and my partner are purchasing our first home. Our property lawyer has messagedto enquire if we want to purchase extra conveyancing searches. We are really unsure what's recommended for conveyancing in Holywell

The range of Holywell conveyancing searches should be triggered based entirely on the premises, the location, the possibility of any of these risks, your familiarity of the region and risks, your general appetite to risk. What is important is that you adequately appreciate what information the searches could give you. Then you can make a decision if you personally think you need that information. Where you are unclear, ask your conveyancing practitioner to guide you.

We're in Holywell, FTBs buying with a mortgage (lender is TSB , and our lawyer is on the TSB conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?

The fact that your lawyer is on the TSB conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.

Just bought a detached house in Holywell , how long should it take for the Land Registry to register my ownership? My Holywell conveyancing solicitor works at snail pace, so I want to check that my ownership is recorded.

As far as conveyancing in Holywell is concerned, registration is no faster or slower than the rest of the country. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timescales can differ subject to the party submitting the application, whether it is in order and if the Land registry communicate with any interested persons or bodies. Currently approximately three quarters of submission are completed in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be extensive hold-ups. Historically registration takes place once the purchaser is living at the property thus 'speed' is not always primary concern yet if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your lawyers must communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for the application to be prioritised.

Are there any apps to assist me to identify a Holywell solicitor on the Alliance & Leicester conveyancing panel? I am a keen cyclist and am prepared to travel upto 20miles to meet the solicitor.

You can use the tool on this website. Please choose the bank and your location and you will see a number of Holywell conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have listed some Holywell conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can telephone them to see whether they are on the Alliance & Leicester member panel