I am six weeks into the sale of my apartment in Gloucester and the estate agent has just text me to say that the purchasers are swapping conveyancer. The reason given is that the lender will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only work with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Gloucester ?

Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.

Banks blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to disclose 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 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.

Do I have to visit the offices of the solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in Gloucester so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.

These days approved lawyers for banks conduct the vast majority of work via the post, e-mail or over phone calls. This enables them to undertake the conveyancing transaction no matter where you live in the country. However you can see if you can still book an appointment to visit conveyancing lawyer if just in case this is required.

I need some expedited conveyancing in Gloucester as I am under an ultimatum to exchange contracts in less than one month. Thankfully I do not require a mortgage. Can I avoid the conveyancing searches to save money and time?

If.Given you are not obtaining a mortgage you are at free not to do searches although no solicitor would suggest that you don't. Drawing on our experience of conveyancing in Gloucester the following are examples of issues that can arise and adversely impact future saleability: Refused Planning Applications, Overdue Charges, Outstanding Grants, Railway Schemes,...

My father-in-law has recommend that I use his conveyancing solicitors in Gloucester. Should I choose my own conveyancer?

Much as we are happy to recommend a Gloucester conveyancing lawyer the ideal way to select a conveyancing solicitor is to get feedback from friends or relatives who have actually previously instructed the firm that you are are thinking of instructing.

Why do Gloucester conveyancing charges are higher for leasehold and freehold properties?

If buying a leasehold property there is more work involved purely due to the fact that usually there are further parties involved in the form of the freeholder and/or Management Agents. As part of a lawyers enquiries they will check that all ground rent and service charges are paid up to date amongst other general leasehold matters. For this reason, the Sellers lawyers usually have to refer to the freeholder or Managing Agent for their replies to our questions. This may be time consuming and beyond the lawyers control