I am selling my home in Claverdon and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the purchasers are swapping law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major lender only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Claverdon ?

Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.

Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed 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 says it is hearing daily from firms 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 sway in the decision.

I require conveyancing for an apartment in a relatively new development (five years built) in Claverdon. Almost all the properties have already been disposed of. Do I need carry out the neighbourhood searches as part of conveyancing in Claverdon?

If you getting a loan, your lender will require some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Claverdon conveyancing searches are optional. Your solicitor, will ’encourage’, perhaps strongly, that you should have the searches done, but he or she is duty bound in this regard. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you choose to instruct your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or it may be necessary to find a new lawyer for your conveyancing in Claverdon.

The deeds to our home can not be found. The conveyancers who dealt with the conveyancing in Claverdon 5 years ago no longer exist. What do I do?

Assuming you have a registered title the details of your ownership will be held by the Land Registry with a Title Number. It is easy to conduct a search at the Land Registry, identify your property and obtain up to date copies of the property title for a small fee. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a file copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for a small fee.

Are there any apps to help search for a Claverdon law firm on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel? I have wheels and am prepared to travel upto 20miles to meet the lawyer.

You can use the facility on this website. Please pick a lender and your location and you will see a number of Claverdon conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some Claverdon conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can ring them to check whether they are on the Virgin Money member panel

I need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner in Claverdon for my home move. Is it possible to review a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?

One may review published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from inquisitions commenced on or after 1 January 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For details Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors history, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For non-uk callers, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA may monitor telephone calls for training requirements.