I am nearing exchange of contracts for my home in Uppingham and the estate agent has just called to say that the purchasers are appointing a new solicitor. The excuse is that the lender will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only work with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Uppingham ?

Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for over 25 years.

Lenders blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to reveal 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. 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 unlikely to have any impact on this.

I understand that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Do I require chancel insurance when buying a residence in Uppingham? or Apparently there is historic law that could mean that owners of property living in a parish church boundary will be compelled to pay for maintenance to the chancel within the church. Is this relevant for conveyancing in Uppingham?

Unless a prior acquisition of the house took place post 12 October 2013 you could take it that solicitors conducting conveyancing in Uppingham to continue to propose a a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my home are lost. The lawyers who dealt with the conveyancing in Uppingham 5 years ago have long since closed. What are my next steps?

In today’s world there are copies made of almost everything, and your conveyancer will know precisely where to look for all the relevant documentation so you may buy or dispose of your property without a hitch. Where copies are not available, your solicitor can put in place insurance or indemnities protecting you against future claims on the premises.

I am buying a new build house in Uppingham benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not disclose to my conveyancer about the extras as it would affect my loan with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I acquired a house in Uppingham last 14/11/2024 and to date it is still not recorded with HM Land Registry. It is part of a development site and my lawyer told me that it can take twelve months to register. I have contacted HMLR directly and they have informed me the initial application was cancelled due to questions not being addressed in time. Do I need to be concerned?

Call your conveyancer - Where you are unsatisfied with the responses, enquire as to their firm’s complaints protocol and escalate your problem to a Partner. Registrations for Uppingham conveyancing are not known to be especially complex.