I plan on purchasing a ground floor flat in Irlam. My property lawyer has never been on on the lender solicitor panel. Can I still appoint my Irlam conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the mortgage company panel?

Your options include

• Carry on with your existing Irlam but your bank will no doubt retain a on their approved list. This will result in additional cost and likely delay.
• Appoint a fresh to act in the purchase, making sure they are on the lender conveyancing panel.
• Convince your to attempt to join the mortgage company panel

I am in a contract race with another buyer for a property in Irlam. What can be done to hasten the conveyancing process?

In the event that you are under a tight deadline for your conveyancing it is highly recommended that your lawyer is familiar with the area as they will benefit local relationships and intelligence. It is even conceivable that they could have transacted previousproperties in the same neighbourhood. Therefore consider using a Irlam conveyancing firm. Second, double check that the conveyancing firm is on the lender panel. It is estimated that nearly one in five of Irlam conveyancing deals are held up or jeopardised after finding out that a buyer’s solicitor was not on their mortgage lender’s member panel. This can often result in the home move being frustrated by almost three weeks. It is believed that this issue affects approximately one hundred thousand home sales annually. Almost all Irlam conveyancing firms can not represent certain banks so do check at the outset.

In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Irlam? What am I being asked for?

Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering regulations require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to check the ID of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Client Care letter that you need to sign should reaffirm this. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with the CML Lenders Handbook requirements last updated on 1st December 2014. Should you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your lawyer will not be able to take you on as a client.

Please explain the implications if my solicitor is expelled from the Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Irlam?

The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.

I am looking for a flat up to £235,500 and found one near me in Irlam I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 49 years on the lease. There is not much else in Irlam for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?

If you need a home loan that many years may be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.