My partner and I are looking to purchase a property in East Beckton and are in fact using a East Beckton conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Britannia have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our East Beckton solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?

If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own East Beckton solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

I am need of leasehold conveyancing for a flat in a relatively new development (seven years built) in East Beckton. Almost all the properties are already sold. Is it really necessary to order neighbourhood searches as part of conveyancing in East Beckton?

Conveyancing Searches are a vital link in the East Beckton conveyancing process. There are a large number of companies who offer East Beckton conveyancing searches, as well direct from the local authority. These are generally termed personal search organisation and they produce, not surprisingly, personal searches. Nevertheless, all Local Authority Search conveyancing products have one thing in common - they must obtain their data from the local authoritative source.

I am purchasing my first flat in East Beckton with a mortgage from Nationwide Building Society. The sellers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not reveal to my lawyer about this side-deal as it will impact my mortgage with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

In my capacity as executor for the estate of my uncle I am selling a residence in Monmouth but reside in East Beckton. My lawyer (approximately 250 kilometers from meneeds me to execute a stat dec ahead of the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing practitioner in East Beckton who can attest this legal document for me?

strictly speaking you are unlikely to be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or solicitor will do regardless of whether they are located in East Beckton

I was told by my mortgage company that their panel conveyancers work on no move no charge basis for conveyancing in East Beckton. I had a purchase fall through yet the lawyers have requested search fees! They say the fees are independent!

East Beckton conveyancing search charges are disbursements not solicitors costs as these are due to a third party.