My wife and I are purchasing a 3 bedroom flat in Great Shelford with a mortgage. We have a Great Shelford solicitor, but the lender advise he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have no choice but to instruct one of the mortgage company panel firms or keep our Great Shelford conveyancing practitioner as well as pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. We consider that this is unjust; are we not able to require that the lender use our Great Shelford conveyancing practitioner ?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and 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: 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 Great Shelford conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

We are purchasing a new build flat in Great Shelford and my conveyancer is advising me that she is duty bound to the lender to disclose incentives from the seller. I am under pressure to exchange and I would rather not prolong matters. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

Can I use your services to find a Conveyancing solicitor in Great Shelford even if I’m not purchasing or disposing of a house, for example if I wish to buy a shop in Great Shelford with a loan from Britannia?

The service is primarily utilised to find domestic conveyancing solicitors in Great Shelford but we have recorded at the bottom of this page a few Great Shelford commercial conveyancing firms. You should enquire with the solicitors directly to establish if they can also act for Britannia

Please help - my lawyer advises that defective lease insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Great Shelford?

The right level of defective lease indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Halifax and The Royal Bank of Scotland. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.

Is it the case that all Great Shelford CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Aldermore conveyancing list of approved practices?

It is true that some banks and building societies now utilise the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to remain on their panels.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Great Shelford off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Barclays. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Barclays, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Barclays conveyancing panel.

Should our conveyancer be making enquiries regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Great Shelford.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers dealing with homes in Great Shelford. There are those who purchase a house in Great Shelford, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.

Lawyers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous searches that may be undertaken by the purchaser or by their solicitors which should give them a better appreciation of the risks in Great Shelford. The conventional set of information supplied to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a usual inquiry of the vendor to discover whether the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not notified by the owner, then a buyer could issue a claim for damages as a result of such an inaccurate answer. The buyer’s solicitors may also order an environmental report. This should disclose whether there is any known flood risk. If so, additional investigations should be made.