I plan on purchasing an apartment in Manchester. My lawyer is not listed on the mortgage company approved list. Can I still retain my Manchester conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the mortgage company panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?

You have numerous choices available to you here

• Proceed with your chosen Manchester property lawyer but your bank will undoubtedly appoint a lawyer from their approved panel. The net result is additional fees together with likely delay.
• Get a new lawyer to act in the purchase, ensuring that they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel.
• Convince your conveyancing practitioner to apply to join the lender panel

I used Wolstenholmes a few years ago for my conveyancing in Manchester. I now require my file however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Manchester of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

How does conveyancing in Manchester differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Manchester approach us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because builders in Manchester usually buy the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Manchester or who has acted in the same development.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Manchester I like with open areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Manchester for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?

Should you require a home loan that many years may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.

Hoping to buy a property located in Manchester and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Manchester. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Manchester area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Manchester. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found