I am selling my apartment in Dukinfield and the estate agent has just called to say that the buyers are switching property lawyer. The reason given is that the bank will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Dukinfield ?

UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for many years.

Lending institutions attribute this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened 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 being contacted daily by practices 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. Your buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.

We're in Dukinfield, First time buyers buying with a mortgage (lender is , and our lawyer is on the conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?

The fact that your lawyer is on the conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.

Hoping to buy a property located in Dukinfield and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Dukinfield. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Dukinfield area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

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

As co-executor for the estate of my father I am selling a residence in Swansea but live in Dukinfield. My conveyancer (who is 260 kilometers from merequires that I sign a statutory declaration prior to the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing solicitor in Dukinfield to attest and place their company stamp on the document?

Technically speaking you should not need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are located in Dukinfield

What can I do to find out who owns a house in Dukinfield?

As long as the premises is registered with HM Land Registry, and you have the specifics of the address of the premises, you will be able to obtain details from the HMLR of the recorded owner for a a minimal charge.