I am selling my home in Heckmondwike and the EA has just called to advise that the purchasers are swapping conveyancer. The excuse 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 specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Heckmondwike ?

UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.

Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened 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. Plenty of firms 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 buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

We hope to to purchase with Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. I called into a few local solicitors yet cant to find a Heckmondwike conveyancing firm on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society approved list. Could you assist?

Please do make the most of the find a conveyancing panel solicitor tool on this site. Please choose the lender and type Heckmondwike or your preferred area and you will see numerous solicitors located in Heckmondwike or by proximity to you.

Is there a list of Virgin Money panel conveyancers in Heckmondwike on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?

No. There is no such directory service on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. Very few banks make their panel listings visible over the internet. Where you are in need of a Heckmondwike lawyer on the Virgin Money please make the most of our facility.

is it true that all Heckmondwike solicitors on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. Some banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Heckmondwike. My mortgage broker suggested a property lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £225. Soon after, the property lawyer contacted me to say that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

Taking into account that I will soon part with 450k on 3 bedroom house in Heckmondwike I would like to talk to a conveyancer about myhouse move prior to instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

Absolutely - we would be happy to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the solicitor who will be conducting your property ownership legalities in Heckmondwike.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique person, not a matter number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are provided with for your conveyancing in Heckmondwike should be the amount on the final invoice that you end up paying.

We are in the throes of selling our flat in Heckmondwike. Conveyancing lawyers are doing their job but we have been asked to pay an extortionate amount from the managing agents. To date we have forked out £268 for a leasehold management information and then another £134.40 for additional queries supplied by the buyers conveyancing practitioner.

Your conveyancer will not have any impact over the level of the bill for this information however the average fee for the information for Heckmondwike leasehold premises is £360. When it comes to Heckmondwike conveyancing deals it is conventional for the seller to cover the charges. The freeholder or their agents are not duty bound to address such questions most will agree to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no legislation that mandates fixed fees for administrative tasks. There is no legal time limit by which they are required to provide the information.