We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The bank mentioned the mortgage came with free conveyancing. Does this mean I have to use their panel solicitor as I would prefer to appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Silvertown?

You should check but the chances are that give you one of their panel lawyers where you take up the "fee-free" offer. Contact the mortgage company and determine if they make available a monetary alternative. It is not unheard for a lender to give a £250 cashback as a further option in which case you could put that amount towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor in Silvertown.

My wife and I are buying a property in Silvertown. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we have to send funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

We previously appointed conveyancing lawyers locally in Silvertown on the Kent Reliance solicitor panel. They have just billed me an additional charge for the legal aspects of the Kent Reliance mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Kent Reliance?

Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your lawyer may levy a fee for this. This charge is not set by Kent Reliance but by your Silvertown conveyancer. Numerous firms on the Kent Reliance panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.

After shopping around on the internet I have found a Silvertown conveyancer having checked that they are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Virgin Money will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Virgin Money 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 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 Silvertown postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Virgin Money, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Silvertown.

Me and my brother have a 4 bedroom Georgian house in Silvertown. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Bank of Ireland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Silvertown and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also check the position with the conveyancing lawyer who completed the work.

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

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

What should I expect to pay for conveyancing in Silvertown?

The amount you are charged for conveyancing in Silvertown will vary significantly from lawyer to lawyer. Given these differences it especially important that you have a complete breakdown of costs when you first instruct a conveyancer. It is advisable to find a few fee estimate.