My husband and I are buying a 2 bedroom apartment in Newton Heath with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Newton Heath conveyancer, but the lender says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or keep our Newton Heath lawyer and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We regard this is unjust; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Newton Heath conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unseasoned as FTB of a ground floor flat in Newton Heath. Do I receive the keys to the property on the completion date from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will find a local conveyancing solicitor in Newton Heath?

On the day of completion you will not be required to go to the conveyancers office in Newton Heath. Your solicitors will arrange to send the completion advance to the owner’s lawyers, and once they have received this, you will be able to receive the keys from the property Agents and move into your new home. Usually this occurs between 1 and 3pm.

I have paid off my mortgage with TSB. I assume I don't need a Newton Heath property lawyer on the TSB panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your TSB mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the TSB mortgage from the register. TSB, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where TSB has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. TSB has instructed the Land Registry to do so

After shopping around on the internet I have found a Newton Heath conveyancer having made sure that they are on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Aldermore will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Aldermore 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 Newton Heath 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.

What does a local search reveal about the house we're purchasing in Newton Heath?

Newton Heath conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations for instance PSG The local search is essential in every Newton Heath conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any unpleasant surprises after you move into your property. The search should provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic sections.

I have todaydiscovered that Stirling Law have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Newton Heath for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 10 months ago. How can I establish that the property is in my name in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest method to see if the premises is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Newton Heath conveyancing specialists.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Newton Heath. Conveyancing is daunting 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 conveyancing.

Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Newton Heath

Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme.