I plan on buying a leasehold flat in Calcot. My Conveyancer has never been on on the mortgage company solicitor panel. Is it possible for me to use my Calcot conveyancing solicitor even though they are excluded from the bank list of approved lawyers?

Various options include

• Complete the deal with your preferred Calcot solicitor but your bank will undoubtedly appoint a conveyancing practitioner from their conveyancing panel. The net result is additional charges together with likely interruption.
• Choose a fresh conveyancer to conduct the conveyancing, obviously checking they are on the bank conveyancing panel.
• Convince your lawyer to do everything within their powers to get accepted on the mortgage company panel of solicitors

I am purchasing a house without a mortgage in Calcot. I have resided for the last 20 years in Calcot. Conveyancing searches are exorbitant. Given that I have knowledge of the road and vicinity very well must I have all the conveyancing searches?

Provided that you do not need a home loan, then almost all of the Calcot conveyancing searches are non-obligatory. Your lawyer will 'advise', no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches carried out, but he is duty bound to take that path of advice. One thing to take into account; if you are likely to sell the house in the future, it could be of interest to your prospective buyer what the searches contain. On occasion houses with day to day issues can still reveal negative search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Calcot should be able to give you some sensible advice in this regard.

We wish to acquire a newly converted flat in Calcot with a mortgage from Alliance & Leicester .We would like to retain our Calcot conveyancing practitioner but Alliance & Leicester says she’s not on their "panel". we are left little option but to use a Alliance & Leicester panel lawyer or retain our local solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. The loan issued to you contains various provisions, a common one being that conveyancers must be on the Alliance & Leicester conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of solicitors 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 solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Alliance & Leicester

Are all Calcot Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the HSBC conveyancing list of approved firms?

It is true that some banks and building societies now use CQS as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.

When it comes to mortgage companies such as Clydesdale, do Calcot property lawyers incur a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?

We are not aware of any bank fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

I am buying a property in Calcot. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. RBS have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?

Given that your lender is RBS your lawyer must check the conveyancing requirements contained in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for RBS. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook includes minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to RBS where a lease fails to satisfy these provisions. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not isolated to Calcot.

I have been told that property searches are the primary cause of hinderance in Calcot house deals. Is there any truth in this?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the most frequent causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are not likely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Calcot.