I am selling my apartment in Burnage and the estate agent has just called to say that the purchasers are changing their solicitor. The excuse is that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a major mortgage company only deal with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Burnage ?

Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.

Lenders blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – 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 buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.

I just bought a house at auction in Burnage. Conveyancing is needed. What is next?

Having to in every practical sense signed on the dotted line you will need to hire the services of a conveyancing lawyer soon as you are faced with a pending deadline in which to complete the purchase. An auction property will have a corresponding legal pack. This will include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. In the case of leasehold premises the auction pack should contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation specific to a leasehold property. You need to hand this to the lawyer working for you at the earliest opportunity. You also need to ensure that that you have the requisite funding organised to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as a first time buyer of a garden flat in Burnage. Do I collect the keys to the house on completion from my lawyer? If so, I will use a local conveyancing solicitor in Burnage?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will electronically transfer the purchase money to the seller's conveyancers, and once they have received this, you should be called to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this happens between 1 and 3pm.

I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Co-operative. Is it usual for Co-operative to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Burnage is approved on their conveyancing panel? Co-operative have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.

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

I have recentlybeen informed that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Burnage for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 9 months ago. How can I check that the property is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?

The easiest method to see if the premises is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Burnage conveyancing specialists.

I opted to have a survey completed on a property in Burnage ahead of retaining solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor advised that some banks will not issue a mortgage on a flying freehold property.

It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Halifax. If you call us we can look into this further with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Burnage. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Burnage to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

Is it possible to switch solicitor as I have to retain one who is on the Godiva Mortgages Ltd conveyancing list. I had appointed a high street conveyancing solicitor in Burnage round the corner but he is not approved by Godiva Mortgages Ltd

We will our best to assist in finding you a conveyancing solicitor in Burnage on the Godiva Mortgages Ltd panel. Please note that the property lawyers that we on the directory do not pay us fee if you instruct them and are authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Burnage. Using search facility on this website, you can compare charges for conveyancing solicitors in Burnage and beyond.