We see that you have a post code search directory identifying firms on the conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I retain them for our conveyancing in Osterley?

We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Osterley.

I am helping my step-mother sell her flat in Osterley. Will the conveyancer commission an energy assessment or do I organise this?

After the abolition of Home Information Packs, energy assessments was left as a mandatory element of selling a house. An energy performance certificate must be commissioned before the property is put on the market. This is not a task that law firms normally organise. If you are instructing a Osterley conveyancing solicitor they may help arrange energy assessments due to their relationships with long established Osterley accredited person

My fiancee and I are in the process of viewing flats in Osterley and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it advisable to have a on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a home loan with .

It would be advisable to instigate your search sooner rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the selling agent. As you are taking out a mortgage with , make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the conveyancing panel.

I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in July 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, are being pedantic. The Osterley solicitor who is on the conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

My wife and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Osterley and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any high street Osterley lawyer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers used a web based conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Osterley. We have lived in Osterley for many years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to seek confirmation that there is no issue.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? 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 sickness)

Is it best to appoint a Osterley conveyancing practitioner in close proximity to the house I am purchasing? I have an old university friend who can carry out the legal work but his firm is located 300miles drive away.

The benefit of a local Osterley conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to execute documents, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local intelligence which is a benefit. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have instructed your friend and in the main were impressed that must trump using an unfamiliar Osterley conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being based in the area.

How easy is it to change a solicitor as I need to find a Osterley based firm who is on the lender conveyancing panel. Is it advisable to appoint a new law firm?

In the event that you have not formally instructed a conveyancer to start work and at this stage simply received an estimate as to costs, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer in Osterley that you're thinking of instructing.