Do the Building Society Association intend to launch a search tool with a view to to identify firms on the Melton Mowbray Building Society conveyancing panel for example in Crewkerne?

We are not aware of any plans on the part of the BSA to promote such a search facility.

Me and my brother purchased a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Crewkerne. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Lloyds TSB Bank. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You should 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Crewkerne and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the conveyancing.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and identified one round the corner in Crewkerne I like with open areas and station nearby, however it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Crewkerne for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?

Should you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be problematic. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.

How simple is it to swap firm as I have to instruct one who is on the Skipton Building Society conveyancing list. I had appointed a local conveyancing solicitor in Crewkerne five minutes from me but he is not accepted by Skipton Building Society

It would be our pleasure to help you find a conveyancing solicitor in Crewkerne on the Skipton Building Society panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we on the directory do not pay us commission if you instruct them and are registered with the SRA who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Crewkerne. In making use of search facility on this site, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Crewkerne.

Our mortgage broker has recommended their lawyer for the conveyancing in Crewkerne - Is it not simpler advisable to just instruct them?

It is worth checking if the selling agent is recommending a conveyancer or introducing to a lawyer. There are plenty of Crewkerne estate agents who recommend two or three Crewkerne conveyancing firms purely based on those lawyers offering a great service.