Me and my partner are intending to acquire a 2 bedroom apartment in Totnes with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Totnes solicitor, but the lender advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or keep our Totnes conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’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 Totnes conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

It is is a decade since I purchased my house in Totnes. Conveyancing lawyers have just been retained on the sale but I can't track down the title deeds. Will this cause complications?

You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be with the mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the lawyers who oversaw your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the title will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Totnes relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.

My conveyancer has informed me that lack of planning permission insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Totnes conveyancing?

The right level of lack of planning permission indemnity insurance should be dictated by who your lender. It would differ for example between Birmingham Midshires and Skipton Building Society. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.

I have paid off my mortgage with Co-operative. I assume I don't need a Totnes conveyancer on the Co-operative panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.

If you have finished paying off your Co-operative mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Co-operative mortgage from the register. Co-operative, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Co-operative has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Co-operative has instructed the Land Registry to do so

It is not clear whether my lender requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Totnes building society branch on various occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they would lend. My Totnes conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called to say that they will not lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?

Your solicitor must follow the CML Handbook section two conditions for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

I note that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Am I compelled to take this when acquiring a property in Totnes? or I am told that there is a law dating back centuries that means some homeowners living in a parish church boundary will be compelled to pay for repairs to the chancel within the church. Is this relevant for conveyancing in Totnes?

Unless a previous acquisition of the house completed after 12 October 2013 you may expect conveyancing practitioners delivering conveyancing in Totnes to continue to advocate a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

Me and my brother own a semi-detached Georgian property in Totnes. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Lloyds TSB Bank. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Totnes and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also check the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the work.