My husband and I are looking to buy a house in Oxshott and have instructed a Oxshott conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Chelsea Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Oxshott conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?

Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. 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 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 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 Oxshott solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

I just acquired a house at auction in Oxshott. Conveyancing is required. What is next?

Now that you have for all intents and purposes signed on the dotted line you now have to hire the services of a conveyancing solicitor quickly as you are facing a fast approaching a fixed date to complete the deal. All auction property should have an associated legal set of papers. This will include most,if not all of the paperwork that your conveyancer requires. Where you are dealing with leasehold property the conveyancing pack should contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation specific to leasehold premises. You need to give this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor at the earliest opportunity. You also need to ensure that you have funds in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

A relative advised me that in purchasing a property in Oxshott there may be a number of restrictions as to what one can do in terms of external alterations to a property. Is this right?

There are anumerous of properties in Oxshott which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Oxshott should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

I'm in the throws of viewing flats in Oxshott and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it best to have my conveyancing practitioner on ‘stand by’? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Bank of Ireland.

You should start requesting conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the EA. Given that you are getting a mortgage with Bank of Ireland, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Oxshott. 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.

Set out below is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Oxshott

Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry.

I am looking into buying my first house which is in Oxshott and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Oxshott. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Oxshott area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

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

I need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner in Oxshott for my sale. Is it possible to review a firm’s record with the profession’s regulator?

You may review published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from inquisitions commenced on or after 1 January 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find information Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors history, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA could monitor call for training requirements.