I am in the process of selling my house in Bourne and the EA has just called to warn that the purchasers are appointing a new law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named lender only work with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Bourne ?

Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.

Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been stiffened 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 claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise 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.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with RBS. I assume I don't need a Bourne conveyancing practitioner on the RBS panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your RBS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the RBS mortgage from the register. RBS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where RBS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. RBS has instructed the Land Registry to do so

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Bourne. I have a mortgage offer with HSBC. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with HSBC, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the HSBC conveyancing panel.

I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Bourne. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £200. Not long after, the lawyer called 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.

Will commercial conveyancing searches reveal proposed roadworks that may affect a commercial site in Bourne?

Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Bourne will conduct a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers expend in researching accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Bourne. The search result provides definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Bourne.

For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Bourne it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately may cause delays to Bourne commercial conveyancing deals as well as pose a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not ordered for domestic conveyancing in Bourne.

I own a renovated Edwardian property in Bourne. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Lloyds TSB Bank. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Bourne and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.

Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Bourne prior to retaining conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. The surveyor advised that some banks tend refuse to give a loan on a flying freehold house.

It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different requirements from Nationwide. If you e-mail us we can check via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Bourne. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Bourne to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.