Is the fact that my solicitor in Birmingham is not identified on my bank's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of his work?

That would most likely be a wrong assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly plausible explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) lack of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Should you be concerned you should simply call the Birmingham conveyancing firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.

We see that you have a search directory identifying solicitors on the Santander conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I instruct them for our conveyancing in Birmingham?

We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Santander conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Birmingham.

We had appointed conveyancing lawyers based in Birmingham on the Aldermore solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a further fee for the legal aspects of the Aldermore mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Aldermore?

Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your solicitor can levy a fee for this. The charge is not set by Aldermore but by your Birmingham lawyer. Numerous firms on the Aldermore panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but many firms incorporate it on their overall fee.

The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Birmingham. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?

All lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.

I had an offer accepted on a house in Birmingham on 24/5/2021, valuation was booked 4 days later, all came back fine. Property lawyer appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Skipton and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?

A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Skipton to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Skipton conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I am selling our home in Birmingham and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. A high street Birmingham lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers are using a factory type conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Birmingham. Having lived in Birmingham for 4 years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to obtain clarification need.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. What do they say? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same illness)

Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Birmingham. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Birmingham

If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company?