My husband and I are looking to acquire a house in The Borough and have appointed a The Borough conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Britannia have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our The Borough lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?

Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own The Borough solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

Will conveyancers request money on account for conveyancing in The Borough?

If you are buying a property in The Borough your solicitor will request that you to provide them with funds to cover the search fees. This will be the total of the cost of the Local Authority Search. If any deposit is payable against the purchase price then this will be asked for immediately in advance of exchange of contracts. The closing balance that is due should be sent to your lawyer shortly before completion.

I had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in The Borough for our house purchase. Our broker informed us that our mortgage company Santander won't deal with them. Surely this is unduly restrictive?

Banks normally restrict either the category or the number of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, a few banks have limited the number of solicitor practices they use to act for them. Be aware that Santander have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Santander Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a primary driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago even though there remains mixed opinions regarding the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Data from the Land Registry indicate that plenty of law firms, including some in or near The Borough only carry out very few conveyances per annum.

Will my conveyancer be making enquiries about flooding as part of the conveyancing in The Borough.

Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers dealing with homes in The Borough. Plenty of people will purchase a property in The Borough, completely aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.

Solicitors are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a various checks that may be carried out by the buyer or by their conveyancers which will figure out the risks in The Borough. The standard property information forms sent to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual question of the seller to determine if the premises has historically flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the seller, then a purchaser may issue a claim for damages stemming from an incorrect response. A buyer’s conveyancers will also order an environmental search. This should higlight if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations should be initiated.

I have been sourcing a conveyancing practitioner in The Borough for my house move. Can I check a solicitor's record with the legal regulator?

Members of the public may search for presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from investigations commenced on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For records about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes recorded telephone calls for training reasons.