I am buying a property without a mortgage in Cheshire. I have resided for the previous Seventeen years in Cheshire. Conveyancing searches are exorbitant. As I know the road and vicinity very well should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?

Provided that you do not need a mortgage, then almost all of the Cheshire conveyancing searches are non-obligatory. Your lawyer will try and sway you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches done, but he has a professional duty to take that path of encouragement . One thing to consider; if you are intend to sell the house one day, it will be of importance to your prospective purchaser what the searches contain. There are plenty of instances where premises with day to day issues can still reveal unexpected search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Cheshire will provide you some practical guidance here.

My Conveyancer in Cheshire is not listed on the Barclays Direct Approved Panel. Is it possible for me to use my family solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the Barclays Direct approved list?

Your options are as follows:

1. Complete the purchase with your existing Cheshire solicitors but Barclays Direct will need to use a lawyer on their panel. This will result in additional overall conveyancing fees and result in delays.
2. Find a new practitioner to to deal with the conveyancing, obviously checking they are Convince your lawyer to use their best endeavours to join the Barclays Direct conveyancing panel

Are all Cheshire Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Aldermore conveyancing list of approved solicitors?

Some major banks and building societies now utilise CQS as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their panels.

Is it the case that all Cheshire conveyancing solicitors on the Santander conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Santander conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many lenders do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the firms would be overseen by the CLC.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Cheshire. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £200. A couple of days later, the lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Nationwide panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

How does conveyancing in Cheshire differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Cheshire contact us having been asked by the seller to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is finished. This is because developers in Cheshire usually purchase the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Cheshire or who has acted in the same development.

I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Cheshire. Conveyancing has not commenced, but I have recently had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the maintenance contribution as normal as all rents and maintenance invoices will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Cheshire Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

How long is the Lease? This question is useful as a) areas could cause problems in the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have complete disclosure Is the freehold reversion owned collectively by the leaseholders?