I am five weeks into the sale of my flat in Shaftesbury and the EA has just called to say that the purchasers are switching conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only engage with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Shaftesbury ?

Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.

Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. 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. 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 not going to have any sway in the decision.

Can your site be used to locate a Conveyancing solicitor in Shaftesbury even if I’m not buying or selling a house, for instance where I wish to buy an office in Shaftesbury with a mortgage from Alliance & Leicester ?

Our comparison service is primarily used to find domestic conveyancing solicitors in Shaftesbury but we have set out at the end of this page a selection of Shaftesbury commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to enquire with the firm directly to check if they can also act for Alliance & Leicester

My aunt passed away last year and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Shaftesbury. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £8000. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Co-operative, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?

If you intend to re-mortgage then Co-operative will require that you use a conveyancer on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Co-operative conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Co-operative mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

My friend suggested that where I am buying in Shaftesbury I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is usually quoted for as part of the standard Shaftesbury conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Shaftesbury around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Shaftesbury Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Shaftesbury.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what should have been a quick, chain free conveyancing. Shaftesbury is the location of the property. Is there any guidance you can give?

Flying freeholds in Shaftesbury are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Shaftesbury you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Shaftesbury may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.