In the event thatI were to purchase a simple residential housein Sanderstead mortgage fee and dispense with a survey and no conveyancing searches how much would I expect to to save on my conveyancing in Sanderstead?

Any savings you would gain would be isolated to the Sanderstead conveyancing searches. The property lawyer still be obliged to do everything else - money laundering, correspond with the sellers lawyer, stamp duty submission, register the property etc. You might save a bit for them not needing to register a charge however it won't be significant.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Sanderstead. I have a mortgage offer with Nottingham. 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 Nottingham, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Nottingham conveyancing panel.

I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Sanderstead. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £200. Soon after, the lawyer called me to say that they were not on the Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale 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've read lots of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Sanderstead solicitor - who is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?

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 Sanderstead 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.

Various internet forums that I have visited warn that are the primary cause of delay in Sanderstead house deals. Is there any truth in this?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the most frequent causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Searches are not likely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Sanderstead.

It has been four months following my purchase conveyancing in Sanderstead took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

At long last our conveyancing in Sanderstead is set to complete on Friday, yet the couple I am purchasing from has asked to move out 24 hours later at noon. Can I agree to this?

It is not possible to complete on a Saturday because the bank systems aren't working.