Is there a search tool that I can use to find out if the solicitor conducting my conveyancing in Okehampton is on the mortgage lender’sapproved panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for Alliance & Leicester thus paying £175.00 in further conveyancing fees.

You should make use of the find a conveyancing panel solicitor tool on this page. Please choose the mortgage company and type ‘Okehampton’ or your preferred area and you will see a number of lawyer based in Okehampton or nearest you.

Do I need to pay for insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when buying a property in Okehampton?

Unless a previous purchase of the house completed post 12 October 2013 you could assume that lawyers carrying out conveyancing in Okehampton to continue to propose a a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

My wife and I purchased a renovated Edwardian house in Okehampton. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Britannia. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Okehampton and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.

I'm buying my first flat in Okehampton benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not to tell my lawyer about this side-deal as it could put at risk my loan with Godiva Mortgages Ltd. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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.

As co-executor for the will of my father I am disposing of a property in Neath but reside in Okehampton. My lawyer (who is 200 kilometers awayhas requested that I execute a statutory declaration before completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing solicitor in Okehampton to attest this legal document for me?

strictly speaking you are not likely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are Okehampton based