I am 4 weeks into the sale of my apartment in Childs Hill and the estate agent has just called to advise that the buyers are swapping property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named mortgage company only engage with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Childs Hill ?

UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for over 25 years.

Mortgage companies blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. 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. The purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.

Can your site be used to recommend a Conveyancing solicitor in Childs Hill even if I’m not purchasing or selling a house, for example where I wish to acquire an office in Childs Hill with a loan from Barnsley Building Society?

Our comparison service is predominantly there to select residential conveyancing solicitors in Childs Hill but we have set out at the end of this page a selection of Childs Hill commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to make contact with the firm directly to see if they can also act for Barnsley Building Society

My aunt passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Childs Hill. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £8000. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Coventry BS, pay off the mortgage. Is this possible?

Where you plan to refinance then Coventry BS will require that you use a conveyancer on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Coventry BS conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Coventry BS mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Childs Hill. Conveyancing is daunting 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 legal work.

Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Childs Hill

The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company?

I am hoping to purchase a repression flat in Childs Hill and the vendor require completion inside a week. Can a property lawyer complete in this timeframe? Am I best advised to instruct a local Childs Hill firm or an online company that advertises to complete quickly?

Visit your Childs Hill high street. Go in to 3 solicitor’s offices and request to talk to a conveyancing solicitor for an estimate. Discuss your situation and try and obtain assurances on time frames. Choose the one that appears most genuine. You need to select a conveyancing practitioner on the list of conveyancers approved by your bank.