I am one month into the sale of my apartment in Forest Gate and the estate agent has just called to warn that the purchasers are switching conveyancer. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Forest Gate ?

UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for over 25 years.

Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some 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. Your purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.

Can the conveyancing lawyers via your comparison service perform attended exchange conveyancing in Forest Gate?

There are a few conveyancing specialists who can conduct attended exchanges. Do contact us to secure a costs illustration and details as to dates.

We note that you have a search directory listing firms on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I retain them for our own conveyancing in Forest Gate?

We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Forest Gate.

My aunt passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Forest Gate. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £8000. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Skipton, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?

Where you plan to refinance then Skipton will require that you use a conveyancer on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Skipton conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Skipton mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

Do commercial conveyancing searches reveal planned roadworks that may affect a commercial land in Forest Gate?

Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Forest Gate will conduct a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers expend in researching accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Forest Gate. The report sets out definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Forest Gate.

For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Forest Gate it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately can result in delays to Forest Gate commercial conveyancing deals as well as pose a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not conducted for residential conveyancing in Forest Gate.