I am progressing with the sale of my apartment in Lymm and the EA has just telephoned to warn that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. The excuse is that the lender will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only deal with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Lymm ?

Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with 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. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that 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. The purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

Please explain the implications if my solicitor is expelled from the Nationwide Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Lymm?

The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.

My partner and I are selling our property in Lymm and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. Any local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers instructed an internet conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Lymm. Having lived in Lymm for many years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to seek confirmation need.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor already. Are they able to advise? You need to check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same ailment)

Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Lymm prior to appointing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may not give a mortgage on a flying freehold house.

It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can check with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Lymm. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Lymm especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Lymm.

I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for some conveyancing in Lymm. I've discover a web site which looks to be the ideal offering If there is a chance to get all formalities done via web that would be preferable. Should I be concerned? What should out be looking out for?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?