My husband and I are looking to acquire a home in Slough and are in fact using a Slough conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Lloyds TSB Bank have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Slough solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?

If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Slough lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

Why do I have to pay up front when it comes to conveyancing in Slough?

Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Slough your lawyer will ask you to provide them with funds to cover the search fees. This will be the total of the cost of the Local Authority Search. When the down payment is payable against the sale price then this should be needed shortly ahead of exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is needed will be payable shortly before completion.

This question may be naive but I am unseasoned as FTB of a garden flat in Slough. Do I collect the keys to the property on completion from my conveyancer? If this is the case, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Slough?

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 property Agents and move into your new home. Usually this happens between 1 and 3pm.

We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Leeds Building Society. Slough conveyancing solicitors were selected. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Leeds Building Society?

Some lenders take longer than others. Have Leeds Building Society conducted the valuation? Have you advised Leeds Building Society as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

My sealed bid on a house in Slough has been accepted, the sellers do however have an associated purchase. The owners have placed an offer on a flat, but it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other apartments in the pipeline. I have selected a local conveyancing solicitor in Slough. What should be my next step? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with TSB?

It is understandable to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (mortgage application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then valuation, Slough conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you should check that your conveyancing practitioner is on the TSB approved list. Concerning the subsequent steps this very much dictated by the specifics of your transaction, desire for the property and on the state of the market. During a hot market the majority of buyers would apply for the mortgage with TSB and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their conveyancing practitioner to move forward with searches.

Due to complete next month on a leasehold property in Slough. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Slough should include some of the following:

Information as to the provision in the lease to to contribute towards maintenance costs - in respect of the block, and the wider rights a lessee has The landlord’s rights to access the flat. You should be made aware that your landlord has rights of access as well as be informed how much notice must be provided. The physical extent of the demise. This may be the apartment itself but might incorporate a loft or cellar if applicable. You should receive a copy of the lease You should have a good understanding of the building insurance provisions

Leasehold Conveyancing in Slough - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability? Where a Slough lease has no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the flat. Check with your bank that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Sloughlease extensions you will need to own the property for a couple of years in order to be legally able to extend the lease. Can you tell me if there are any major works on the horizon that could increase the service fees?

My fiance and I are hoping to buy a 2 bedroom first floor flatin Slough with a residential mortgage from a mortgage company. We wish to instruct our conveyancer in Slough however our mortgage company says he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct from the our bank panel firms or stay with our Slough solicitor and incur the extra legals for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. The bank mortgage offered to you is subject to conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender's conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels, including almost all conveyancing solicitors in Slough : a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your bank.