We intend to purchase a newbuild apartment in Chippenham with a homeloan from Chelsea Building Society.We use our Chippenham conveyancing solicitor but Chelsea Building Society advised that she’s not listed on their "panel". We have to appoint a Chelsea Building Society panel solicitor or keep our preferred solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The loan offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, a common one being that solicitors will be on the Chelsea Building Society solicitor panel. Until recently, most banks had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could find 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 lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Chelsea Building Society

If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in Chippenham what would it be?

It would be unwise to be swayed by the cheapest Chippenham conveyancing quote. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in advance.

After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Chippenham. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £200. A couple of days later, the conveyancer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the TSB 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 TSB 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.

I am due to exchange contracts on my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in July 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Kent Reliance are being problematic. The Chippenham solicitor who is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Kent Reliance are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Kent Reliance have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Kent Reliance have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Kent Reliance may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Chippenham. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Chippenham

Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided.

Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Chippenham before instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies tend not issue a mortgage on such a home.

It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Chippenham. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

My husband and I are novice buyers - had an offer accepted, yet the selling agent told us that the seller will only go ahead if we use the agent's recommended lawyers as they want an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a family conveyancer used to conveyancing in Chippenham

We suspect that the seller is not behind this demand. Should the owner want ‘a quick sale', turning down a serious buyer is is going to put the whole deal at risk. Contact the vendors directly and make the point that (a)you are serious buyers (b)you are ready to progress, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you are going to use your preferred Chippenham conveyancing firm - not the ones that will provide their negotiator at the agency a commission or meet his conveyancing targets pre-set by head office.