I am expecting a mortgage with Santander. I intend to enlist the help of a Licensed Conveyancer in Havering-atte-Bower. Does the Santander Solicitor panel exclude conveyancers regulated by the CLC?

The Santander approved solicitor list is, like many other lenders, associated to the Council or Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the CLC.

My wife and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Havering-atte-Bower and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. A local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers instructed an internet conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Havering-atte-Bower. Having lived in Havering-atte-Bower for 5 years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to obtain confirmation that the buyers are looking for.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? You should enquire of 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 health insurance to cover that same illness)

I have justbeen informed that Stirling Law have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Havering-atte-Bower for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 12 months ago. How can I check that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?

The easiest method to see if the property is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Havering-atte-Bower conveyancing specialists.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one close by in Havering-atte-Bower I like with a park and transport links nearby, however it only has 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Havering-atte-Bower in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?

Should you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be problematic. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.

I have been informed by numerous estate agents to expect 6-8 weeks for Havering-atte-Bower conveyancing to complete.This was 3 ago. The property information was only forwarded from the vendors solicitor last week so does the time start running now?

Don't count on completing on a certain date until contracts are exchanged. Whatever assurances the people you are purchasing from or selling to make, or your conveyancer gives don't rely on them. More stress is caused to clients trying to move home by unfulfilled assurances than anything else.