I am one month into the sale of my home in Henleaze and the estate agent has just e-mailed to advise that the buyers are switching solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named lender only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Henleaze ?

Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.

Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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. Your purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.

My husband and I are buying a newly converted apartment in Henleaze with a mortgage from Halifax.We like our Henleaze conveyancing lawyer but Halifax advised that he's not listed on their "panel". We have to appoint a Halifax panel lawyer or retain our local solicitor and fork out for a Halifax panel lawyer to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Halifax use our lawyer?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its various provisions, a common one being that lawyers needs to be on the Halifax approved list. Until recently, most banks 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. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Halifax

Is it the case that all Henleaze solicitor firms on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Bank of Ireland approved list of solicitors they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Some lenders do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be overseen by the CLC.

I am buying a property in Henleaze. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Coventry BS be concerned?

As your lender is Coventry BS your lawyer must follow the conveyancing requirements contained in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Coventry BS. The CML Handbook includes minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancers are required to report to Coventry BS where a lease does not satisfy these provisions. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales and is not limited to Henleaze.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Henleaze. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancing practitioner. I paid an advanced payment of £225. A couple of days later, the conveyancer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Kent Reliance panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

We are purchasing a property and the conveyancer has referenced Chancel Repair to which the property could be liable because it falls into the area of such a church. She has mentioned insurance. Is this really necessary for conveyancing in Henleaze

Unless a previous acquisition of the house completed after 12 October 2013 you could expect solicitors delivering conveyancing in Henleaze to continue to advocate a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

Are Henleaze conveyancing solicitors under an obligation to the Law Society to supply transparent conveyancing costs?

Inbuilt into the Solicitors Code of Conduct are prescriptive rules and regulations as to how the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) allow solicitors to publicise their charges to clients.The Law Society have a practice note giving advice on how to publicise transparent charges to avoid breaching any such rule. Practice notes are not legal advice issued by the Law Society and is not to be interpreted as the only standard of good practice a conveyancing solicitor should adhere to. The Practice Note does, however, constitute the Law Society’s view of acceptable practice for publicising conveyancing charges, and accordingly it’s a recommended read for any solicitor or conveyancer in Henleaze or across England and Wales.