I am selling my ground floor flat in Caerwys and the EA has just telephoned to say that the buyers are changing their law firm. The excuse is that the lender will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named lender only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Caerwys ?

UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.

Lending institutions blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – 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. Plenty of firms 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 buyers are not going to have any impact on this.

I am about to exchange buying a property in Caerwys but as a result of wreckage from the recent storms I have managed to agree compensation from the vendor of three thousand pounds in the form of a adjustment in the price. I had intended this to be addressed as part of the conveyancing process but RBS are not allowing this. Why were they informed?

Any solicitor being on the RBS conveyancing panel is duty bound to disclose to RBS of any variations to the purchase price. If you prohibit your conveyancing practitioner to notify the reduction to RBS then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, RBS and you would have to appoint a new conveyancing practitioner for your conveyancing in Caerwys.

It is a dozen years since I acquired my house in Caerwys. Conveyancing solicitors have now been appointed on the sale but I am unable to find my title documents. Is this a problem?

You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by your mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the solicitor who acted in the purchase. Secondly in all probability the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors procuring current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Caerwys relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Caerwys?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Caerwys. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Do I need to be wary by estate agents that I am dealing with are recommending an online conveyancing firm rather than a local Caerwys conveyancing company?

As is the case with lots of service providers, often suggestions from connections can be very helpful. Yet there are lots of players in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, financial adviser and banks may recommend lawyers to appoint. Sometimes these lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there may be a commercial relationship behind the endorsement. You are free to choose your preferred conveyancer. Don't forget that some lenders have an approved list of lawyers you are obliged to use for the mortgage related work in your house move.