My wife and I are buying a property in Barnetby le Wold. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we will need to put our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?

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.

I had a mortgage agreed in principle with Clydesdale. Barnetby le Wold conveyancing lawyers are selected. How long does it take for Clydesdale to forward the offer to the solicitor?

There is no definitive answer here. Have Clydesdale completed the survey? Have you informed Clydesdale as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Barnetby le Wold. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £150. A couple of days later, the lawyer contacted me to say that they were not on the Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money 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.

I have been told that property searches are a common cause of stalling in Barnetby le Wold house deals. Is this right?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the top 10 causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Local searches are not likely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Barnetby le Wold.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my property can not be found. The lawyers who conducted the conveyancing in Barnetby le Wold 10 years ago have long since closed. What do I do?

Gone are the days when you need to hold title deeds to establish that you own the land or property, as the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.

Is it best to choose a Barnetby le Wold conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am purchasing? An old friend can handle the legal formalities but they are based 300miles drive away.

The benefit of a local Barnetby le Wold conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to execute documents, deliver your identification documents and apply pressure on them if necessary. They will also have local insight which is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust used your friend and they were content that must surpass using an unknown Barnetby le Wold conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being round the corner.

My father-in-law mentioned that before choosing a conveyancing solicitors they must be approved by your bank. I am novice purchaser but I have an AIP with Santander and I already have a local conveyancing lawyer in Barnetby le Wold on standby. Can Virgin Money insist on an approved lawyer to be used? If so, where can I find that list for my conveyancing in Barnetby le Wold?

You should use a solicitor that is on the Virgin Money panel. Just telephone your chosen Barnetby le Wold conveyancing solicitor and ask if they are on the Virgin Money panel. If they are not approved you have a number of alternatives open to you here:

• Proceed with your existing Barnetby le Wold lawyer but Virgin Money will need to instruct a conveyancer from their conveyancing panel. The net result is additional cost together with potential frustration.
• Choose a new conveyancer to conduct the conveyancing, not forgetting to check that they are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel.
• Appeal to your solicitor to seek to join the mortgage company panel.