I was informed recently by my mortgage adviser that my Balby lawyer is not on the lender Conveyancing panel. How can I be certain if this is indeed the case?

The sensible course of action for you to take is to call your Balby conveyancer. You lawyer should inform you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a Balby conveyancing firm that is on the approved list of lawyers for your lender.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Balby off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Clydesdale. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Clydesdale, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel.

I have instructed a Balby lawyer having checked that they are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Coventry BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Coventry BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancing practitioner will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Balby postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Coventry BS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Balby.

My offer on a semi in Balby has been accepted, the sellers do nevertheless have a connected purchase. The owners have placed an offer on a property, but it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other properties in the pipeline. I have instructed a local conveyancing solicitor in Balby. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage application with RBS going?

It is understandable to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then survey, Balby conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you must check that your lawyer is on the RBS approved list. As to the subsequent phase this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market some buyers will apply for a home loan with RBS and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their solicitor to proceed with the conveyancing in Balby.

Will my solicitor be raising questions concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Balby.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors dealing with homes in Balby. Plenty of people will buy a property in Balby, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.

Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a various checks that may be carried out by the buyer or by their lawyers which will figure out the risks in Balby. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms supplied to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a usual inquiry of the vendor to discover if the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that the property has been flooded in past and is not disclosed by the vendor, then a buyer may commence a legal claim for losses stemming from an inaccurate answer. A buyer’s solicitors may also order an enviro search. This will higlight whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further investigations will need to be conducted.

My husband and I are novice buyers - agreed a price, yet the agent has warned us that the owners will only go ahead if we appoint the agent's chosen lawyers as they are insisting on an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a family solicitor with experience of conveyancing in Balby

We suspect that the seller is unaware of this requirement. Should the vendor want ‘a quick sale', alienating a serious purchaser is likely to cause more damage than good. Speak to the owners direct and make the point that (a)you are motivated purchasers (b)you are ready to go, with finances arranged © you are unencumbered (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you are going to use your own,trusted Balby conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will provide the negotiator at the agency a kickback or achieve conveyancing targets demanded by senior management.

Why can't I complete my conveyancing in Balby on a public holiday?

This is due to the fact that on completion the money needs to pass between the banks of the buyer and owner’s conveyancer and at present this can only occur on a working day. So you can't complete on a weekend either.