My fiance and I wish to acquire a newbuild flat in Billericay with a mortgage from The Mortgage Works.We like our Billericay conveyancing lawyer but The Mortgage Works informed us he's not on their approved list of member firms. We have to appoint a The Mortgage Works panel lawyer or keep our local solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that The Mortgage Works use our lawyer?

No, not really. The home loan issued to you is subject to its terms and conditions, a common one being that lawyers needs to be on the The Mortgage Works 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 The Mortgage Works

Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Billericay. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?

Almost all lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.

Planning on purchasing a house in Billericay. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Billericay solicitor is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel.

I have instructed a Billericay conveyancer having checked that they are on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Bank of Ireland will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Bank of Ireland 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 Billericay 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.

How do I use your search facility to select a conveyancing practitioner in Billericay on the panel for my lender?

First choose a mortgage company such as National Westminster Bank, Coventry Building Society or Alliance & Leicester then specify your preferred area for example Billericay. Conveyancing firms in Billericay and across England and Wales should be listed.

I am a couple of weeks into a residential purchase having been referred to solicitors by the selling agent to carry out the conveyancing in Billericay. We are not happy. Could you help me find new lawyers?

A lawyer would need to be very bad to suggest diss instructing them. Has the loan offer been issued? In the event that it has you must make them aware of the new solicitor and have the offer are re-issued. The conveyancer needs to be on the lenders panel to avoid escalating charges and frustration. That should be your starting point. The search tool can help you find a lender approved solicitor for your conveyancing in Billericay

Our lender agreed in principle to grant us a mortgage. We are using a local conveyancer in Billericay yesterday. A couple of hours ago, our broker called to say that the lender said that we cannot use our solicitor as they aren't on their panel. As novices, we did not have a clue that the bank had a say Is this allowed?

You are at liberty to use any conveyancing solicitor you wish to choose including the said conveyancer in Billericay but if they are not on the your lender's panel you will have to fork out an extra fee so the bank can retain their own solicitors as well to protect their interest. It may be conceivable that your solicitor may apply to get added to the bank list of approved firms. Do make the most of web-based search facilities such as lenderpanel.com to find a conveyancing solcitor in Billericay on the mortgage company panel. You can go into your local mortgage company branch in Billericay. They will know some good conveyancing solicitors in Billericay on the mortgage company panel.