I am nearing exchange of contracts for my maisonette in Forestdale and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are swapping law firm. The reason given is that the bank will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Forestdale ?

Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for many years.

Lending institutions blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to reveal 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 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. The purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

Can the conveyancing practitioners that you recommend conduct right to buy conveyancing in Forestdale?

We have identified a variety of conveyancing lawyers who can conduct right to buy conveyancing Please get in touch with us with a view to get a costs illustration.

We note that you have a post code search directory listing law firms on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I retain them for our conveyancing in Forestdale?

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

I am helping my aunt sell her house in Forestdale. Will the conveyancer commission the EPC or it is for the seller to see to?

After the demise of HIPs, energy performance certificates became a required part of moving house. An energy assessment must be commissioned prior to the property being advertised. It is not a task that conveyancers ordinarily arrange. If you are using a Forestdale conveyancing lawyer they might help arrange energy assessments due to their relationships with long established Forestdale accredited person

We had selected solicitors based in Forestdale on the Santander solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me a separate amount for dealing with the Santander mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Santander?

Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your lawyer may charge a fee for this. This charge is not set by Santander but by your Forestdale conveyancer. Numerous firms on the Santander panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.

I had a mortgage agreed in principle with Kent Reliance. Forestdale conveyancing solicitors were chosen. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Kent Reliance?

There is no definitive answer here. Have Kent Reliance done the valuation? Have you informed Kent Reliance as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.

A relative recommended that where I am buying in Forestdale I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

This is a search is usually quoted for as part of the standard Forestdale conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Forestdale around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Forestdale Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Forestdale.