My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Rickmansworth. I I would like to check whether they are accepted on the Barclays Direct conveyancing panel. Could you advise?

You should phone the conveyancer and ask them whether they are on the lender panel. Alternatively you should get in touch with Barclays Direct who may be able to help.

We are purchasing a 4 bedroom semi-detached house in Rickmansworth. We would like to carry out a loft conversion at the house.Will legal conveyancing on the property involve enquiries to see if these alterations are permitted?

Your solicitor will review the registered title as conveyancing in Rickmansworth can occasionally identify restrictions in the title deeds which restrict certain changes or need the consent of another owner. Some works require local authority planning permissions and approval in compliance with building regulations. Certain locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. It would be sensible to check these things with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.

My solicitor has informed me that absentee landlord insurance is required on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Rickmansworth conveyancing?

The right level of absentee landlord indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between Nationwide Building Society and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.

My fiancee and I are in the throws of looking at apartments in Rickmansworth and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a lawyer in place at this stage? I intend to finance via a home loan with Nottingham.

You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the estate agent. As you are obtaining a mortgage with Nottingham, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Nottingham conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

It has been five months since my purchase conveyancing in Rickmansworth completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

I have been advised by a number of estate agents in Rickmansworth to find a property lawyer using your seach tool. What’s the financial advantage for Estate Agents to offer your services over another?

We don’t offer any referral fee for directing people in our direction. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission as a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.

Our conveyancer in Rickmansworth has uncovered a defect with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in Rickmansworth. The other side have put forward title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our lawyer has advised that as he is on the bank conveyancing panel he must be satisfied that the lender is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is the bank?

The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. A precondition to being on the bank approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected . Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.