I am hoping to receive a mortgage with Santander. I intend to instruct a Licensed Conveyancer in Bellingham. Does the Santander Solicitor panel exclude conveyancers regulated by the CLC?

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

I have given 2 months notice to my current landlord and must be out of my let out flat in Bellingham by the end of next month. Conveyancing for my house purchase is underway. How realistic is it to complete in 5 weeks as I wish to avoid having to find short term accommodation?

It is unwise to serve notice on a rental unless exchange of contracts has taken place. Assuming that you have not previously done so, update to your lawyer and ask them to they cajole the sellers side, try to get a realistic time scale from them that everyone will aim to achieve

What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Bellingham? Is this really warranted?

In order to comply with Money Laundering Regulations any Bellingham conveyancing firm will require evidence of your identity in all conveyancing transactions. This is usually satisfied by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility bill showing your correct address.

In accordance with Money Laundering Regulations, conveyancing solicitors are duty bound to investigate not only the ID of conveyancing clients but also the origin of monies that they receive in respect of any matter. An unwillingness to disclose this may lead to your lawyer ending their retainer with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.

Your conveyancers will have an obligation to notify the appropriate authorities should they consider that any monies received by them may contravene the Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one round the corner in Bellingham I like with amenity areas and station nearby, however it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Bellingham for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can 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 existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.

Are there any apps to help identify a Bellingham solicitor on the TSB conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am willing to travel upto 20kilometers to meet the lawyer.

You can use the search on this page. Please choose the bank and your location and you will see a number of Bellingham conveyancing lawyers locally. We have detailed some Bellingham conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can telephone them to check whether they are on the TSB approved list