I had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Mexborough and Swinton for our house purchase. Our broker has since notified us that our mortgage lenders Coventry Building Society won't deal with them. Surely this is unduly restrictive?

Mortgage Companies tend to imposes restrictions either the type or the amount of conveyancing firms on their panel. Typical examples of such criteria being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, a few lenders have limited the number of firms they allow to act for them. Be aware that Coventry Building Society have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Coventry Building Society Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a primary driver in the reduction of solicitor panels a few years ago even though there are differing opinions regarding the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Figures from the Land Registry reveal that plenty of law firms, including some in or near Mexborough and Swinton only perform one or two conveyances per annum.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Mexborough and Swinton?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Mexborough and Swinton. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I am looking for a flat up to £305k and found one near me in Mexborough and Swinton I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Mexborough and Swinton suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this.

I'm refinancing my existing house to a buy to let mortgage with HSBC Bank and I will use the rest of the raised equity towards a second property. The location we are talking about is Mexborough and Swinton. Will your solicitors be able to act for both sets of mortgage companies and link together the conveyances?

Make use of our comparison tool on this site to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panels. On the basis that they are your solicitor should be able to connect the two transactions but you should have a chat with you lawyer and make apparent your expectations and requirements.

My husband and I have just had a bid accepted on our 1st home in Mexborough and Swinton, and need to get solicitors instructed. I have utilised the different comparison tools and the results are from all over the country. Is it essential to have a Mexborough and Swinton lawyer local to our prospective house? I am content to do everything electronically, but I assume at some point we will need to visit the lawyer's office to sign papers?

The lawyer does not need to be in Mexborough and Swinton, but opting for local means that you have the option to visit their offices if you need to, by way of example, if a signature is immediately necessary. Also, a Mexborough and Swinton solicitor is likely to be familiar with local agents and (if the vendor has instructed a local solicitor) with them, which should help keep things moving faster.