Much to our surprise we have been advised by our lender that my Anstey property lawyer is not on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. What can I do to be sure that this is correct?

Your first step should be to contact your Anstey conveyancer. You lawyer should notify you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your mortgage company.

We are selling our house in Anstey. Will my conveyancing practitioner have to be on the Co-operative conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Co-operative conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently in recent years.

Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Skipton. Anstey conveyancing lawyers were selected. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Skipton?

Some lenders take longer than others. Have Skipton conducted the survey? Have you informed Skipton as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Skipton conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.

I am expecting a OIP from HSBC this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do HSBC recommend any Anstey solicitors on the HSBC conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?

You will need to appoint Anstey solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the HSBC conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and HSBC through the process.

Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Anstey. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?

Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.

I used Arc property Solicitors a few years ago for my conveyancing in Anstey. Now, I need the documents however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Anstey of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

My fiance and I are buying a three bedroom apartmentin Anstey with a mortgage from a bank. We like our solicitor in Anstey yet our mortgage company advise he's not on their "panel". Apparently we need to choose from the our mortgage company panel solicitors or stay with our Anstey conveyancer and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The bank home loan offered to you is subject to conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will on the bank's conveyancing panel. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of law firms on their panels, including most conveyancing solicitors in Anstey : 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 solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your lender.