I can't travel far from Tufnell Park. I would like to know the logic why all Tufnell Park property lawyers aren't automatically on all bank panels?

Mortgage companies point to the fact that solicitor-led fraud is thought to be responsible for millions of pounds of fraud every year.The elimination of law firms off of lender panels started with the rise in mortgage fraud, which prompted a thematic review by the FSA in 2011. Its outcome included recommendations for mortgage companies to review their conveyancing panels, which triggered a major policy change in the sector. It resulted in lenders purging less reputable firms off their official list of approved solicitors .

Finally the sale completed on my house in Tufnell Park last November yet the purchaser is e-mailing every few hours to moan that their conveyancer is waiting to hear from mysolicitor. What should have happened following completion?

Post completion of your disposal your solicitor is duty bound to deliver the transfer deeds and all supplemental paperwork to the buyer’s solicitors. Depending on the transaction, your conveyancer should also evidence that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been discharged to the purchasers conveyancers. There are no post completion requirements peculiar conveyancing in Tufnell Park.

Do the Building Society Association intend to launch a searchable register to list practices on the Melton Mowbray Building Society conveyancing panel for example in Tufnell Park?

We are not aware of any intention on the part of the BSA to develop such a register.

Is it correct that all Tufnell Park CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the UBS conveyancing panel?

It is true that some banks and building societies now use CQS as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their panels.

My husband and I have organised a further advance on our mortgage from Yorkshire BS as we wish to conduct renovations to our house in Tufnell Park. Do we need to select a nearby Tufnell Park solicitor on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

Yorkshire BS would not normally require a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel.

We were going to get a AIP from Clydesdale this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Clydesdale recommend any Tufnell Park solicitors on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?

You will need to appoint Tufnell Park solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Clydesdale through the process.

We have been told by many family members to expect six to eight weeks for Tufnell Park conveyancing to complete.This was four weeks ago. The paperwork was only received to my conveyancing practitioner yesterday so now does it countdown?

You should be realistic concerning timing. Conveyancing in Tufnell Park takes on average about ten weeks. This timeframe is not due to property lawyer being slow and purposely delay matters. The level of money involved in buying any residence is so high, the purchaser's solicitor having to carry out a wide range of questions, searches and supplemental checks to protect the purchaser and their mortgage company (if there is to be a home loan) from expensive, avoidable problems. These checks involves obtaining information from a range of different parties, including other solicitor, local councils, private companies, mortgage companies. Many of these are efficient. Others are not. Finally, it doesn't matter how quickly your conveyancer do their job, if the people you are buying from or are selling to aren't ready, nothing can go ahead until they are up to speed.