My husband and I are intent on purchasing a ground floor flat in Queensferry. My Solicitor is not on the lender approved list. Am I still permitted to continue with my Queensferry conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the mortgage company approved list?

You will need to instruct a lawyer to complete the legal work required if you need a mortgage to buy your property. They will conduct all the necessary due diligence on the property, make sure that you will be registered as proprietor and ensure that all the required mortgage paperwork is dealt with. One can appoint a Queensferry conveyancing practitioner of your choosing. However, where the conveyancer selected is not a member of the bank conveyancing panel additional fees will be levied as separate legal representation will be required by them. Bank panel applications can be submitted, so provided your lawyer has not previously sought membership they should take the chance to apply.

My wife and I are nearing an exchange on a house in Queensferry and my mum and dad have sent the 10% deposit to my property lawyer. I am now advised that as the deposit has been received from someone other than me my conveyancing practitioner needs to make a notification to my mortgage company. Apparently, in also acting for the bank he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I informed the bank regarding my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really appropriate for him to raise this?

Your solicitor is legally required to check with lender to make sure that they know that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. The solicitor can only reveal this to your mortgage company if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.

Will lawyers request money on account for my conveyancing in Queensferry?

Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Queensferry your lawyer will request that you to provide them with funds to cover the search fees. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. When the deposit is payable against the purchase price then this should be required immediately before exchange of contracts. The final balance that is due should be transferred a couple of days prior to the completion date.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Queensferry off the council. I have a mortgage offer with TSB. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with TSB, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the TSB conveyancing panel.

After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Queensferry. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancing practitioner. I paid an advanced payment of £150. Shortly after, the property lawyer contacted me to say that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I have instructed a Queensferry lawyer having made sure that they are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Yorkshire BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Yorkshire BS 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. Your property lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Queensferry postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Queensferry.

I am buying a new build apartment in Queensferry. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Queensferry

There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? 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 Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme.