Completed the sale of my flat in Crawcrook last December yet the purchaser is e-mailing me to say her conveyancer needs to hear from mine. What should have happened now that I have sold?

Following your sale your solicitor should forward the transfer deeds and all additional paperwork to the purchaser's lawyers. Depending on the transaction, your conveyancer should also send confirmation that the mortgage has been paid off to the buyers solicitors. There is unlikely to be post completion steps unique to conveyancing in Crawcrook.

Does a directory service exist listing Kent Reliance panel solicitors in Crawcrook on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?

No. There is no such tool on the CML or Building Society Association sites. A small selection of lending institutions make their panel listings viewable over the internet. If you are seeking to appoint a Crawcrook conveyancing practitioner on the Kent Reliance please make the most of our facility.

We were going to get a AIP from Santander this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Santander recommend any Crawcrook solicitors on the Santander conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?

You will need to appoint Crawcrook solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Santander conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Santander through the process.

I'm at the point of viewing apartments in Crawcrook and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Coventry BS.

It would be prudent to commence your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the selling agent. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Coventry BS, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I am looking into buying my first house which is in Crawcrook and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Crawcrook. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Crawcrook area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Crawcrook. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

We're novice buyers - had an offer accepted, but the estate agent informed us that the owners will only go ahead if we instruct their recommended solicitors as they are insisting on a ‘quick sale’. We would rather use a family conveyancer used to conveyancing in Crawcrook

It is highly unlikely the sellers are driving this. If they want ‘a quick sale', turning down a serious purchaser is is going to put the whole deal at risk. Speak to the vendors direct and make sure they understand (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to go, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you are going to instruct your preferred Crawcrook conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will provide the estate agent a kickback or achieve conveyancing thresholds set by head office.

My nephew is about to join the property ladder, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. After the seller agreed the offer on the apartment we called the building society to move forward with his. I was shocked to discover that banks do not accept all lawyer, they have to be on a list, is this legal?

Banks normally restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their panel. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that lenders have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Crawcrook conveyancing practitioner on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Unlikely.