I am not well enough to travel far from St Ives. Can you please spell out why all St Ives lawyers aren't automatically on all lender panels?

A decade ago most mortgage companies displayed an attitude to risk which differs from the current day. The FSA in 2010 conducted a thematic review into fraud which concluded: know the solicitors on your panel. Accordingly, lenders have since looked to extract more data from law firms about their processes and the individuals who work for them and set certain criteria such as completing a minimum amount of transactions. Many law practices have been excluded from lender panels even though they had 100% healthy track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Such firms found it impossible meet the minimum volume of transactions the mortgage companies set.

A colleague advised me that in purchasing a property in St Ives there may be a number of restrictions prohibiting external alterations to the property. Is this right?

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

We are getting the release of further monies on our mortgage from Bank of Ireland as we want to carry out a loft conversion to our house in St Ives. Do we need to choose a high street St Ives solicitor on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?

Bank of Ireland do not ordinarily instruct firms on their approved list of lawyers to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Bank of Ireland panel.

I am selling my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in September 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Nottingham are being problematic. The St Ives solicitor who is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Nottingham are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Nottingham have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Nottingham have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Nottingham may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

I am looking to sell my house. My previous lawyers has retired. I am in need of a recommendation of a conveyancing firm. Im based in St Ives if that makes a difference.

Please use our search tool to help you find a solicitor for your conveyancing in St Ives. We have connected thousands of home buyers and sellers with regulated solicitors to ensure that the legalities of their house move goes smoothly.

I need to find a conveyancing solicitor for freehold conveyancing in St Ives. I've stumble upon a site which appears to be the perfect solution If it is possible to get all formalities completed via web that would be ideal. Do I need to be wary? What should out be looking out for?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?

We are in the middle of buying a property in St Ives. Conveyancing lawyer has phoned to say the title is "Leasehold". Does this adversely affect our Halifax valuation?

St Ives conveyancing does not in most situations involve leasehold houses. The main consideration here is the length of lease and the ground rent. If it's 999 years with a peppercorn rent, it's virtually freehold, so it’s unlikely to impact the value significantly.

At the other extreme, if it's, say, 50 years it is bound to have a adverse effect on the value, and most likely wouldn't be mortgageable. The length of lease and ground rent will be stated in the lease provided to your conveyancing practitioner.