At what point will exchange of contracts take place for domestic conveyancing in Stratford and am I required to attend the conveyancers office?

Where you are in close proximity to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Stratford you are welcome to attend to sign the paperwork. However, the lender approved solicitors we work with provide a nationwide conveyancing service and give just as diligent and professional a job for you when communicating with you by post or email. The executing of the property agreement is not the point of no return. Signing on the dotted line is just a prerequisite for the solicitor to exchange contracts at the suitable time, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The procedure is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where a lengthy "chain" is in play, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Stratford)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.

We are expecting a mortgage offer soon. The lender mentioned the home loan came with free conveyancing. Is the implication that I have to use their panel solicitor as I would prefer to use a local conveyancing solicitor in Stratford?

You should check but the chances are that appoint one of their panel conveyancers if you take up the "fee-free" offer. Contact the bank and explore if they make available a cash alternative. Some mortgage companies have previously offered a £250 cashback as a further option in which case you could put that amount towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor in Stratford.

I am looking for a flat up to £245,000 and identified one round the corner in Stratford I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 51 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Stratford suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?

If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you may ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.

Am I right to be wary that brokers that I am dealing with are recommending a factory type conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Stratford conveyancing practice?

As with many professional services, often input from relatives can be worth their weight in gold. But there are lots of players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders may suggest solicitors to choose. On occasion the lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but sometimes there is an underlying financial incentive behind the recommendation. You are at liberty to appoint your own conveyancer. However, bear in mind that the majority of mortgage providers specify a panel list of law firms you must use for the mortgage related work in your transaction.

The solicitors undertaking our conveyancing in Stratford has sent papers to review that state the property is unregistered with epitome documents. Surely all houses in Stratford are registered?

Much of the property in Stratford is registered. An 'epitome' is basically a dossier of photocopies of documents affecting an unregistered title. Plenty of Stratford conveyancing lawyers should be familiar with this type of conveyancing but if any uncertainty prevails the standard guidance these days is for the current owners to undertake the registration formalities first and thereafter deal with the dispose of the property to the purchaser - this this chain of events will cause a prolonged conveyancing.