My husband and I are purchasing a newbuild flat in Swinton with a homeloan from Alliance & Leicester .We would like to retain our Swinton conveyancing lawyer but Alliance & Leicester advised that his firm is not on their "panel". we are left little option but to use a Alliance & Leicester panel solicitor or keep our high street solicitor and pay for a Alliance & Leicester panel lawyer to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that Alliance & Leicester use our lawyer?

Unfortunately,no. The home loan offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that conveyancers will be on the Alliance & Leicester approved list. Until recently, most mortgage companies had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could find 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. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Alliance & Leicester

I am being told by my lawyer that defective lease insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Swinton?

The right level of defective lease indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between Lloyds TSB Bank and Coventry Building Society. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to borrowers take out such insurances.

My husband and I have arranged the release of further funds on our mortgage from Co-operative as we want to carry out improvements to our house in Swinton. Are we obliged to appoint a local Swinton solicitor on the Co-operative conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

Co-operative would not normally appoint firms on their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Co-operative conveyancing panel.

My offer on a semi in Swinton has been accepted, the owners do nevertheless have a dependent purchase. The vendors have offered on somewhere, however it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other properties in the pipeline. I have instructed a high street conveyancing solicitor in Swinton. What do I do now? At what point should I apply for the mortgage with Yorkshire BS?

It is understandable to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses prematurely (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Swinton conveyancing search costs, etc). First, you must ensure that your property lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS approved list. Concerning the subsequent phase this very much depends on the specifics of your transaction, desire for the property and on the state of the market. During a hot market the majority of home buyers would apply for the mortgage with Yorkshire BS and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their lawyer to move forward with the conveyancing in Swinton.

What does a local search tell me about the house we're purchasing in Swinton?

Swinton conveyancing often commences with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company such as Searches UK The local search is essential in every Swinton conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search should provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic areas.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Swinton. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Set out below is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Swinton

Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Swinton I like with open areas and transport links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Swinton suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

Should you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.