I am nearing exchange of contracts for my flat in Castle Cary and the estate agent has just e-mailed to warn that the purchasers are changing their property lawyer. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major mortgage company only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Castle Cary ?

Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.

Lenders blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says 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. Your buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.

Why do I have to pay up front for my conveyancing in Castle Cary?

If you are buying a property in Castle Cary your solicitor will ask you to provide them with monies to cover the search fees. Ordinarily this is requested to cover the fees of the Local Authority Search. When the down payment is as part of the total price then this will be required immediately before contracts are exchanged. Any further balance that is needed should be sent to your lawyer a couple of days ahead of the completion date.

A colleague advised me that if I am purchasing in Castle Cary I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Castle Cary conveyancing searches. It is a large report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Castle Cary around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Castle Cary Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Castle Cary Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Castle Cary.

How easy is it to switch solicitor as I have to retain a firm on the conveyancing panel. I was using a local conveyancing solicitor in Castle Cary round the corner but he is not approved by

It would be our pleasure to assist you find a conveyancing solicitor in Castle Cary on the panel. Please note that the law firms that we work with do not pay us commission if you instruct them and are registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Castle Cary. In making use of search facility on this page, you can scrutinise fees for conveyancing solicitors in Castle Cary and throughout England and Wales.

In my capacity as executor for the will of my uncle I am selling a house in Cardiff but live in Castle Cary. My lawyer (based 250 kilometers awayneeds me to execute a statutory declaration prior to the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing solicitor in Castle Cary who can attest and place their company stamp on the document?

strictly speaking you are not likely to need to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are based in Castle Cary