My fiance and I are planning to buy a property in Old St Mellons and have appointed a Old St Mellons conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Barclays Direct have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Old St Mellons solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see 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 the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Old St Mellons lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

When does exchange of contracts take place for purchase conveyancing in Old St Mellons and am I required to attend the lawyers office?

If you are round the corner to our conveyancing solicitors in Old St Mellons you are invited in to sign the paperwork. However, the lender approved solicitors we recommend offer countrywide coverage for conveyancing and provide just as detailed and professional a job for you when dealing with you digitally. The signing of the contract is not the important part. Signing on the dotted line is just a prerequisite for the firm to officially exchange when the time is right, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The procedure is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where a long "chain" is in the mix, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Old St Mellons)to be in the office at the appropriate time.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Old St Mellons. Conveyancing is a frightening process 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.

Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Old St Mellons

Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore.

Given that I will soon spend over three hundred thousand on a two bedroom apartment in Old St Mellons I wish to have a conversation with the conveyancer regarding theconveyancing in advance of giving the go ahead to the firm. Can this be arranged?

We could not agree more - we would be delighted to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the solicitor due to be carrying out your property ownership legalities in Old St Mellons.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is unique individual, not a case number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are calculated and presented to you for residential conveyancing in Old St Mellons should be the figure that you are charged.

In searching the web for the term cheap conveyancing in Old St Mellons it brings up many solicitorsin the vicinity. How do I determine which is the right conveyancing solicitor for me?

The ideal way of choosing a suitable conveyancer is via personal testimonial, so ask friends and those you trust who have bought a property in Old St Mellons or the reputable estate agent or financial adviser. Fees for conveyancing in Old St Mellons differ, so it's advisable to secure at least four fee estimates from different property lawyers. Make sure that you know what costs in the quote includes.