My fiance and I are intent on buying a maisonette in Newham. My property lawyer has never been on on the mortgage company conveyancing panel. Is it possible for me to continue with my Newham conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the mortgage company approved list?

Various options include

• Carry on with your existing Newham property lawyer but your bank will undoubtedly instruct a solicitor on their approved list. The net result is additional charges and likely interruption.
• Choose a fresh conveyancing practitioner to act in the purchase, making sure they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel.
• Convince your conveyancing practitioner to apply to join the bank panel

As someone clueless as to conveyancing in Newham what is your top tip you can give me for the house moving process in Newham

Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Newham and elsewhere in London is often a confrontational experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is lots of opportunity for friction between you and other parties involved in the ownership transfer. E.g., the vendor, property agent and on occasion the mortgage company. Selecting a solicitor for your conveyancing in Newham is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE party in the transaction whose responsibility is to protect your legal interests and to keep you safe.

Every so often a third party with a vested interest may try and persuade you that you should follow their advice. For instance, the property agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your lawyer is dragging his heels. Or your mortgage broker may advise you to do something that is against your conveyancers guidance. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the conveyancing process.

We are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our property in Newham and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. A local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers used an online conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Newham. Having lived in Newham for three years we know of no issue. Should we contact our local Authority to obtain clarification that there is no issue.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You need to check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)

How does conveyancing in Newham differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Newham come to us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is finished. This is because new home sellers in Newham tend to acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Newham or who has acted in the same development.

How do I search for a Newham solicitor on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society conveyancing panel? I have wheels and am willing to travel upto 25miles to meet the lawyer.

Feel free to make use of the search on this website. Please pick a mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Newham conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have detailed some Newham conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can ring them to check whether they are on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society panel