It has come to my attention via my broker that my St Helens the law firm I have appointed is not on the lender Solicitor panel. What can I do to be certain whether this is indeed the case?

You need to call your St Helens conveyancer. You lawyer should notify you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a St Helens conveyancing practice that is on the conveyancing panel for your bank.

Do banks and building societies provide you with an approved list of St Helens conveyancing solicitors? How do you know who is on the conveyancing panel?

St Helens conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from directly.

My aunt advised me that in buying a property in St Helens there could be various restrictions as to what one can do in terms of external alterations to the property. Is this right?

We are aware of anumerous of properties in St Helens which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external variations. Part of the conveyancing in St Helens should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

I'm the only recipient of my late mum's estate and I have everything in my name now, including the my former home in St Helens. The St Helens property was put into my name in . I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship could be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the property in . Will no one buy the property for half a year?

The CML handbook instructs conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be affected by that. How sensible a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the bank as this requirement primarily exists to identify the purchase and immediately sell or the flipping of property.

I currently have a mortgage with for my property in St Helens. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform ?

Your original mortgage agreement with will provide that you need their approval before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of ’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a conveyancing panel lawyer.

What tools are available to identify a St Helens law firm on the conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am willing to travel upto 20miles to meet the conveyancer.

Feel free to make use of the tool on this website. Please choose the bank and your location and you will see a number of St Helens conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have detailed some St Helens conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can ring them to check if they are on the approved list

St Helens Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How much is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent? Who manages the block? It would be a good idea to investigate if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in St Helens. If you like the flatin St Helens but your cat is not allowed to live with you then you will be faced hard compromise.