I am selling my ground floor flat in Charlton and the estate agent has just text me to say that the buyers are swapping property lawyer. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major mortgage company only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Charlton ?

Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for over 25 years.

Lending institutions blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

Our solicitor has discovered a a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are buying in Charlton. The seller’s lawyers have offered defective title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our conveyancing practitioner says that he must be satisfied that the bank is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company ?

Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the lender does not mean to say that the property will meet their requirements for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. You and the bank are the client. These conveyancing instructions must be adhered to.

We are purchasing a house in Charlton. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we have to send money into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our monies?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

Do I select a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in Charlton?

Two types of professional can conduct conveyancing in Charlton namely licenced conveyancers or solicitors. The two can provide the legal services that you need to complete the sale or purchase of property. Both are duty bound to carry out Charlton conveyancing on similar quality and guidelines so you can be sure that your conveyancing will be professionally administered and that all necessary procedures should be correctly adhered to.

I've read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Charlton solicitor - who is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?

Leeds Building Society will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Leeds Building Society will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Charlton surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

I am buying a new build house in Charlton with a loan from Bank of Scotland. The builders would not move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The estate agent advised me not reveal to my solicitor about the side-deal as it will impact my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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.

I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for sale conveyancing in Charlton. I have chance upon a web site which looks to be the ideal offering If it is possible to get all the legals completed via email that would be preferable. Should I be concerned? What should out be looking out for?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?