I am in the process of selling my maisonette in Derby and the EA has just telephoned to say that the buyers are changing their property lawyer. The reason given is that the lender will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named lender only engage with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Derby ?

Banks have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 25 years.

Mortgage companies blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed 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 hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some 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. Your purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.

Please help. My Derby solicitor is assuring me that he is legally obliged toconduct Derby conveyancing searches becausethe firm are on the Virgin Moneysolicitor panel. These Derby checks cost a lot of money can this be avoided?

Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are obtaining a home loan with a bank your conveyancer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your property lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to comply with the CML Handbook requirements . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Derby conveyancing searches.

Me and my partner are purchasing a property in Derby. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? On completion day we will need to send money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

A colleague informed me that in purchasing a property in Derby there could be various restrictions prohibiting external changes to the property. Is this right?

There are anumerous of properties in Derby which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Derby should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

We are getting a further advance on our home loan from Bank of Ireland as we wish to conduct renovations to our house in Derby. Are we obliged to select a bricks and mortar Derby solicitor on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?

Bank of Ireland don't usually require firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Bank of Ireland panel.

What does a local search inform me concerning the house my wife and I purchasing in Derby?

Derby conveyancing often commences with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company for instance PSG The local search is essential in every Derby conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any nasty surprises after you move into your new home. The search will reveal information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 topic areas.

I am looking for a flat up to £245,000 and found one close by in Derby I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Derby for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?

Should you require a home loan that many years may be an issue. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.