Me and my wife are buying a maisonette in Penistone. My Conveyancer has never been on on the bank solicitor panel. Am I still permitted to retain my Penistone conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the mortgage company list of approved lawyers?

Various options include

• Complete the purchase with your existing Penistone property lawyer but your lender will no doubt instruct a property lawyer from their approved panel. This will result in additional cost and likely interruption.
• Get a fresh property lawyer to act in the purchase, obviously checking they are on the bank conveyancing panel.
• Convince your solicitor to pull out all the stops to join the bank’s panel of solicitors

My wife and I have recently purchased a property in Penistone. We have noticed several issues with the property which we believe were missed in the conveyancing searches. Do we have any recourse? Can you clarify the nature of searches that should have been carried out for conveyancing in Penistone?

The query is vague as to the nature of the problems and if they are specific to conveyancing in Penistone. Conveyancing searches and due diligence undertaken during the buying process are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the process, the vendor completes a document known as a Seller’s Property Information Form. answers provided is incorrect, you may have a misrepresentation claim against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Penistone.

It is a dozen years since I acquired my house in Penistone. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been appointed on the sale but I can't find the title documents. Will this jeopardise the sale?

Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be retained by your mortgage company or they could still be with the solicitor who acted in the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Penistone relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is unregistered it is more tricky but is not insurmountable.

I moved into my flat on 11 October and my personal details is not yet on the land registry website. Need I be worried? My conveyancing solicitor in Penistone advises it should be formalised inside ten days. Are titles in Penistone uniquely lengthy to register?

There is nothing unique about conveyancing in Penistone registration formalities. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timeframes can differ according to who lodges the application, whether there are errors and whether the Land registry must send notices to any third persons or bodies. Currently in the region of three quarters of such applications are fully addressed within 12 days but some can be subject to protracted delays. Historically registration is effected once the buyer is living at the premises so an expedited registration is not usually an essential issue but where it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your solicitor must contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.

I decided to have a survey carried out on a property in Penistone in advance of instructing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. The surveyor advised that some lenders tend refuse to give a mortgage on such a house.

It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements for example to Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Penistone. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Penistone to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.