Me and my fiance are intending to acquire a 3 bedroom apartment in Teignmouth with a mortgage. We have a Teignmouth solicitor, but the bank says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or keep our Teignmouth property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We regard this is inequitable; can we not require that the lender use our Teignmouth solicitor ?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower 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 Teignmouth conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

I have been told by my conveyancer that lack of building regulations insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Teignmouth conveyancing?

The appropriate level of lack of building regulations indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between Lloyds TSB Bank and Coventry Building Society. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.

is it true that all Teignmouth solicitor firms on the UBS conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?

As solicitors, in order to be on the UBS approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Some banks do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be governed by the CLC.

Intending to buy a house in Teignmouth. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the HSBC conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Teignmouth property lawyer is on the HSBC conveyancing panel.

four months have elapsed following my purchase conveyancing in Teignmouth took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

I am looking for a flat up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Teignmouth I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 52 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Teignmouth for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for at least 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 with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Teignmouth what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Teignmouth is not unique. All leases are drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party. Insurance obligations

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Virgin Money, and TSB all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Teignmouth - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

Is there a share of the freehold? How many years are left on the lease? You will want to find out as much as you can regarding the managing agents as they can either make life much easier or uncomfortable. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day issues such as the tidiness of the common parts. Ask other people what they think of their management. Finally, be sure you understand the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and specifically what it includes.