My partner and I are looking to buy a house in Bedfont and have appointed a Bedfont conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Bedfont lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Bedfont lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Bedfont? Is this really necessary?

Bedfont conveyancing solicitors and indeed property lawyers accross the UK have an obligation under money laundering regulations to verify the ID of any client in order to ensure that clients are who they say they are.

Conveyancing clients will need to disclose two forms of certified identification; proof of identity (typically a Passport or Driving Licence) and evidence of address (usually a Utility Bill less than 3 months old).

Proof of the origin of funds is also necessary in compliance with the money laundering statutes as conveyancers have a duty to investigate that the money you are utilising to acquire a property (be it the exchange deposit or the total purchase amount where you are buying without a mortgage) has originated from legitimate source (such as an inheritance) rather than the product of illegitimate behaviour.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Bedfont?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Bedfont. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Taking into account that I will soon part with 450k on a property in Bedfont I wish to have a conversation with the conveyancer regarding thehouse move ahead of giving the go ahead to the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

Absolutely - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the conveyancer due to be carrying out your conveyancing in Bedfont.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is an important individual, not a matter reference. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are calculated and presented to you for residential conveyancing in Bedfont should be the figure that you end up paying.

In scouring the internet for the phrase conveyancing in Bedfont it reveals many solicitorsin the vicinity. With so much choice what is the best way to find the right conveyancing solicitor for purchase transaction?

The preferential way of choosing the right conveyancer is through a trusted referral, so ask friends and those you trust who have bought a property in Bedfont or a local estate agent or financial adviser. Costs for conveyancing in Bedfont vary, so it's a good idea to obtain a minimum of three fee estimates from varying types of law firms. Dont forget to clarify that the charges are assured not to increase.