My husband and I are hoping to purchase a flat in Stretford and are in fact using a Stretford conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Halifax have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Stretford conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?

Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Stretford solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

We are purchasing our first home. Our lawyer has contact usto check if we wish to order additional conveyancing searches. Frankly we in the dark as to what's relevant for conveyancing in Stretford

The number and type of Stretford conveyancing searches should be dictated entirely on the premises, the location, the likelihood of any of these risks, your familiarity of the region and risks, your general approach to risk. What is important is that you adequately comprehend what information each search could supply. You may then decide if you personally think you need that search. Should you be unclear, ask the solicitor to explain.

Me and my partner are buying a flat in Stretford. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we have to put 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.

When it comes to mortgage companies such as Lloyds, do Stretford conveyancers have to pay a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to be on their panel, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in April 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, HSBC are being pedantic. The Stretford solicitor who is on the HSBC conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but HSBC are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do HSBC have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that HSBC have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why HSBC 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.

How does conveyancing in Stretford differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Stretford contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is built. This is because new home sellers in Stretford typically buy the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Stretford or who has acted in the same development.

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Stretford. Conveyancing has not commenced, however I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the service charge as usual because all ground rent and service invoices should be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Stretford Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

The majority of Stretford leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the building levied on behalf of the management company. Should you buy the property you will have to pay this contribution, normally periodically accross the year. This may differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, normally this is not a significant figure, say about £25-£75 but you need to check it because on occasion it can be prohibitively expensive. The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the lessees have control and even though a managing agent is frequently retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?