My financial adviser says he needs my Kensington solicitor’s panel reference for the Santander conveyancing panel. What is the best way to find this out. I have e-mailed my local Kensington office but they have not got back to me yet.

The sensible thing to do is ask for this information from your Kensington property lawyer . They should have a central record lender panel numbers.

When it comes to lenders such as Skipton, do Kensington solicitors have to pay a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are not aware of any bank fees to be on their panel, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

My husband and I are spending time looking at flats in Kensington and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it wise to have a property lawyer on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a mortgage with Barclays.

You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the estate agent. As you are seeking a mortgage with Barclays, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Barclays conveyancing panel.

After shopping around on the internet I have found a Kensington property lawyer having checked that they are on the Santander conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Santander will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Santander will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Kensington surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

Hoping to buy a property located in Kensington and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Kensington. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Kensington area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Kensington. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

My husband and I are 18 days into a freehold purchase having been directed to solicitors by the high street agent to perform conveyancing in Kensington. I am am very disappointed with the quality of service. Could you you assist me in finding new lawyers?

They would need to be very poor in order to consider changing them. Has the mortgage offer been issued? If so you will need to advise them of the new contact details and ensure the loan are issued to the new lawyers. Your solicitor ideally should be on the mortgage company panel to avoid added fees and complications. That should be your first question of the new conveyancers. Our search tool should assist you in finding a bank approved solicitor for your conveyancing in Kensington

My partner and I soon to exchange on the purchase a house in Kensington but as a result of damage from the recent storms I have negotiated reparation from the vendor of four thousand pounds in the form of a deduction in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process however the lender will not permit this. Why were they notified?

Any conveyancer listed on the lender approved list is obliged to disclose to the mortgage company of any amendments to the sale price. If you prohibit your conveyancer to notify the price change to your lender then they would have to disinstructing themselves from acting for you and the lender.