My husband and I are hoping to purchase a 3 bedroom flat in Shadwell with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Shadwell solicitor, however the mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to appoint one of the bank panel conveyancing practices or keep our Shadwell property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. We regard this is inequitable; can we not demand that the lender use our Shadwell property lawyer ?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’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. A further alternative is for your Shadwell conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

We were just about to exchange contracts for a ground floor flat in Shadwell. We encountered a snag. The loan offer with HSBC Bank runs out on 18/3/2026 but the vendors are insisting on a completion date of 20/3/2026. Can one extend the loan offer?

The person best placed to address this question is your solicitors who will hopefully assess if they should be discussing with the lender, owner’s lawyers, selling agents or indeed all three given what has happend in your conveyancing to date.

I just acquired a house at auction in Shadwell. Conveyancing is required. What is next?

Now that you are to all intents and purposes signed on the dotted line you should appoint a conveyancing lawyer quickly as you now have a tight deadline in which to complete the transaction. An auction property will have an associated auction pack. This should include most,if not all of the paperwork that your conveyancer will need. Where you are dealing with leasehold premises the conveyancing pack should contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation relating to a leasehold property. You should pass this on to your appointed conveyancing solicitor at the earliest opportunity. Do make sure that that you have the requisite funding organised to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

This question may be naive but I am new to the home buying as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Shadwell. Do I receive the keys to the house on the completion date from my conveyancer? If this is the case, I will instruct a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Shadwell?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will arrange to send the completion advance to the seller's solicitors, and once they have received this, you should be able to pick up the keys from the property Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.

I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by UBS. Is it usual for UBS to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Shadwell is approved on their conveyancing panel? UBS have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.

A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for UBS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the UBS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I am purchasing my first flat in Shadwell with a loan from Barnsley Building Society. The builders would not reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The house builders rep advised me not inform my lawyer about the extras as it could jeopardize my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Shadwell is the location of the property. Can you offer any opinion?

Flying freeholds in Shadwell are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Shadwell you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Shadwell may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.