My husband and I are hoping to purchase a flat in Mitcheldean and are in fact using a Mitcheldean conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Mitcheldean conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for 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 property lawyer should contact your lender 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Mitcheldean lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

This question may be naive but I am unseasoned as a 1st time buyer of a garden flat in Mitcheldean. Do I receive the keys to the property on completion from my conveyancer? If so, I will find a local conveyancing solicitor in Mitcheldean?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will arrange to send the purchase money to the vendor’s lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be able to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs between 1 and 3pm.

We expect to receive a AIP from this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do recommend any Mitcheldean solicitors on the conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?

You will need to appoint Mitcheldean solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and through the process.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with . I assume I don't need a Mitcheldean on the panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.

If you have finished paying off your mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the mortgage from the register. , and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. has instructed the Land Registry to do so

My wife and I own a terraced Victorian house in Mitcheldean. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and . I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for 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 for 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 Mitcheldean and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the purchase.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Mitcheldean is the location of the property. What do you suggest?

Flying freeholds in Mitcheldean are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Mitcheldean you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Mitcheldean may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.

We are a couple of weeks into a freehold purchase having been directed to conveyancers by the estate agent to execute conveyancing in Mitcheldean. We are not happy. Could you you assist me in finding new solicitors?

A lawyer would have to be really bad to suggest replacing them. Has the mortgage been issued? In the event that it has you need to make them aware of the replacement conveyancer and ensure the mortgage documents are re-issued. Your new solicitor ideally needs to be on the lenders panel to avoid escalating costs and delays. That should be your first question of the new solicitors. Our find a solicitor tool can assist you in finding a bank approved solicitor for your home move in Mitcheldean