My fiance and I are buying a 1 bedroom apartment in Exeter with a loan from Accord Mortgages Ltd.We have a Exeter conveyancing practitioner but Accord Mortgages Ltd informed us his firm is not listed on their "panel". we are left little option but to use a Accord Mortgages Ltd panel lawyer or retain our preferred solicitor and pay for a Accord Mortgages Ltd panel lawyer to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Accord Mortgages Ltd use our lawyer?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you contains various provisions, a common one being that lawyers needs to be on the Accord Mortgages Ltd conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Accord Mortgages Ltd

is it true that all Exeter solicitor practices on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Clydesdale approved list of solicitors they would need to be overseen by the SRA. Many mortgage companies do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be regulated by the CLC.

We previously appointed conveyancers with offices in Exeter on the Barclays solicitor panel. They are now charging me a supplemental charge for dealing with the Barclays mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Barclays?

Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your solicitor is entitled to levy a fee for this. The charge is not set by Barclays but by your Exeter conveyancing practitioner. Numerous firms on the Barclays panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.

My partner and I have arranged the release of further funds on our mortgage from Co-operative as we wish to carry out alterations to our property in Exeter. Do we need to choose a local Exeter solicitor on the Co-operative conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

Co-operative don't usually require a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Co-operative conveyancing panel.

I was advised by numerous estate agents in Exeter to get a quote from a conveyancer using your seach tool. What’s the financial inducement for Estate Agents to market your services ahead of a competitor’s?

We don’t give any referral fee for directing people to this site. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because members of the public would think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.

Is it best to instruct a Exeter conveyancing practitioner based in the area that I am purchasing? I have an old university friend who can perform the conveyancing however her office is 400miles drive away.

The primary upside of using a high street Exeter conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, present your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local intelligence which is a bonus. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust instructed your friend and in the main were happy that must outweigh using an unfamiliar Exeter conveyancing lawyer just because they are based in the area.

A licensed conveyancer acted on my conveyancing in Exeter three years ago and was holding my title documents but has now closed – how do I get hold of these?

Deeds, as such, no longer exist as most properties in Exeter are registered digitally at Land Registry. If you need to show ownership or are selling or re-mortgaging your property lawyer can obtain up to date copies of the register from the Land Registry in any case.

If you feel there may be other documents or you have any other queries please e-mail your request with details of the transaction and documents you need to filerequest@clc-uk.org. The CLC will let you know what information they have and any additional information they may need before they are in a position to identify and send the documents to you. Following an intervention it may take some time for the CLC to access archived files and documents, but your request will be actioned as quickly as possible.