My wife and I are looking to purchase a home in Wool and are in fact using a Wool conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Halifax have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Wool lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?

If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 property lawyer 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Wool lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

My flat in Wool is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does the conveyancing practitioner need to be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.

What will a local search tell me regarding the property my wife and I buying in Wool?

Wool conveyancing often starts with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search company for example Onsearch The local search is essential in every Wool conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your property. The search should supply data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic headings.

My partner has encouraged me to use his conveyancers in Wool. Should I choose my own solicitor?

There are no two ways about it it’s preferable to choose a conveyancing lawyer is to have guidance from friends or relatives who have used the solicitor that you are considering.

I note that you have a search directory listing firms on the mortgage company conveyancing panel. Do Wool conveyancing firms pay you a referral fee if I retain them for my conveyancing?

We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the bank conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Wool.