My partner and I are intent on acquiring a maisonette in Sale. My lawyer is not on the lender solicitor list. Is it possible for me to use my Sale conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the mortgage company approved list?

Various options include

• Carry on with your chosen Sale conveyancing practitioner but your mortgage company will no doubt retain a conveyancing practitioner on their approved list. The net result is additional charges together with potential delay.
• Choose a fresh conveyancer to conduct the conveyancing, ensuring that they are on the lender conveyancing panel.
• Convince your lawyer to attempt to join the lender panel

My aunt pointed out to me me that in purchasing a property in Sale there may be a number of restrictions preventing external alterations to a property. Is this right?

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

When it comes to lenders such as UBS, do Sale lawyers incur a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are not aware of any bank fees to register on their panel, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

Can you point me to a directory of Leeds Building Society panel conveyancers in Sale on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?

Unfortunately not yet. There is no such facility on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. A small selection of lending institutions make their panel listings available on the web. If you are seeking to appoint a Sale property lawyer on the Leeds Building Society please use our tool.

I have justdiscovered that Arc property Solicitors have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Sale for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 18 months ago. How can I check that my home is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest way to check if the property is in your name, you can make 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 Sale conveyancing specialists.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on last month in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Sale is where the house is located. What do you suggest?

Flying freeholds in Sale are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Sale you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Sale may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.

My step-son is embarking on her first house purchase, he had his mortgage in principle. One the seller agreed the offer on the apartment we contacted the bank to progress the mortgage application. We were very surprised to discover that mortgage companies do not accept all solicitor, they have to be on a list, is this legal?

Banks normally restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that banks have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Sale property lawyer on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Probably not.