My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Stapleford. I need to find out whether they are on the Barclays Direct approved list of lawyers. Could you or the lender confirm if they are on the panel?

You should call your lawyer and ask them whether they are on the lender panel. Alternatively you should call Barclays Direct who may be able to confirm.

Do I need to take out insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when purchasing a residence in Stapleford?

Unless a prior acquisition of the property took place post 12 October 2013 you could take it that conveyancing practitioners delivering conveyancing in Stapleford to remain recommending a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Stapleford is where the house is located. What do you suggest?

Flying freeholds in Stapleford are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Stapleford you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Stapleford may decide 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.

In my capacity as executor for the will of my aunt I am selling a property in Monmouth but reside in Stapleford. My conveyancer (based 300 kilometers awayrequires that I execute a stat dec prior to the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing practitioner in Stapleford to witness this legal document for me?

strictly speaking you are unlikely to be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are Stapleford based

We are hoping to buy a four room apartmentin Stapleford with a mortgage from a lender. We like our solicitor in Stapleford but our mortgage company advise he's not listed on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct from the our mortgage company panel solicitors or stay with our Stapleford conveyancer and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that our bank use our Stapleford lawyer?

No, not really. The lender home loan issued is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will on the bank's conveyancing panel. Until recently, most banks had large numbers of law firms on their panels, including almost all conveyancing solicitors in Stapleford : a mortgagee could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.