We are selling our house in Leyton. Does my lawyer have to be required to be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently at the moment.

I am buying a property in Leyton. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Yorkshire BS be concerned?

Given that your lender is Yorkshire BS your lawyer must check the conveyancing instructions contained in Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Yorkshire BS. The CML Handbook stipulates minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancing practitioners are required to report to Yorkshire BS where a lease fails to meet these specifications. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not restricted to Leyton.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Leyton. I have a mortgage agreed with Leeds Building Society. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Leeds Building Society, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel.

After what feels like an age I have had an offer on a maisonette in Leyton accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have placed an offer on a flat, but it’s not yet tied up, and are looking at other properties in the pipeline. I have chosen a high street conveyancing solicitor in Leyton. What do I do now? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Virgin Money?

It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Leyton conveyancing search costs, etc). The first thing to do is ensure that your conveyancing practitioner is on the Virgin Money approved list. As to the subsequent phase this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your case, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market many buyers would apply for a home loan with Virgin Money and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their conveyancer to proceed with searches.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Leyton. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Leyton

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. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. 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. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants.

How easy is it to transfer to a new firm as I have to appoint one who is on the Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel. I was using a family conveyancing solicitor in Leyton five minutes from me but the firm is not accepted by Skipton Building Society

It would be our pleasure to assist you find a conveyancing solicitor in Leyton on the Skipton Building Society panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we list do not pay us a referral fee if you instruct them and are registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Leyton. In utilising search facility on this page, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Leyton.

We have chosen a Leyton conveyancing solicitor for our home move (FTB’s) and have picked up in the terms and conditions that they are not covered by the Financial Conduct Authority. Should I be worried or is that the norm with conveyancing practitioner?

We can't see why they should be. Most conveyancing practitioner don't lend money. You should check that they are regulated by the SRA, who set stringent obligations regulating monies sitting on client account.