I am in the process of selling my maisonette in Sutton Coldfield and the EA has just telephoned to say that the buyers are appointing a new solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only engage with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Sutton Coldfield ?

Banks have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.

Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to disclose 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. 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 not going to have any sway in the decision.

If you had a top tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Sutton Coldfield what would it be?

We would encourage you not to base your choice on the lowest Sutton Coldfield conveyancing fees. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.

I am helping my mother sell her property in Sutton Coldfield. Will the conveyancer commission an EPC or it is for the owner to see to?

After the demise of Home Information Packs, energy performance certificates was left as a required component of selling a property. An EPC needs to be commissioned prior to the property being marketed. This is not something that lawyers normally arrange. Where you are instructing a Sutton Coldfield conveyancing lawyer they might be able to arrange energy performance certificates due to their contacts with reputable Sutton Coldfield energy assessors

The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Sutton Coldfield. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I would like to complain about the lender. How do I make a complaint?

All banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.

I decided to have a survey done on a property in Sutton Coldfield ahead of appointing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. Our surveyor has said that some lenders will not grant a mortgage on such a house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements from Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Sutton Coldfield. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Sutton Coldfield to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

Given that I am about to part with £400,000 on a terraced house in Sutton Coldfield I wish to have a conversation with the solicitor concerning thehouse move before appointing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

This is something that we encourage - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the conveyancer due to be carrying out your property ownership legalities in Sutton Coldfield.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique person, not a case number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are provided with for your conveyancing in Sutton Coldfield should be the amount on the final invoice that you end up paying.

I am expecting to exchange on the purchase a property in Sutton Coldfield but as a consequence of damage from the recent storms I have negotiated recompense from the vendor of £2k in the form of a reduction in the price. I had intended this to be addressed as part of the conveyancing process but the bank will not agree to this. Why were they notified?

Any conveyancing practitioner that is on a bank conveyancing panel is duty bound to advise the lender of any variations to the sale amount. If you were to refuse your property lawyer to report the reduction to your mortgage company then they would need to disinstructing themselves from representing you and the bank.