My fiance and I are hoping to purchase a flat in Barnt Green and are in fact using a Barnt Green conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. National Westminster Bank have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Barnt Green conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual 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 Quality 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 solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Barnt Green solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

We just had an offer accepted to buy with Earl Shilton BS. I popped in a couple of local companies yet am unable to find a Barnt Green conveyancing firm on the Earl Shilton BS panel. Please you help?

You should make the most of the search tool on this page. Please choose the mortgage company and type Barnt Green or your preferred area and you will see numerous solicitors offices in Barnt Green or nearest you.

Can you point me to a directory of Coventry BS panel conveyancers in Barnt Green on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?

No. There is no such directory service on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available over the internet. Where you are seeking to appoint a Barnt Green conveyancer on the Coventry BS please use our tool.

We are getting the release of further monies on our home loan from Leeds Building Society as we wish to conduct a loft conversion to our property in Barnt Green. Do we need to appoint a bricks and mortar Barnt Green solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?

Leeds Building Society do not ordinarily instruct a member of their conveyancing panel 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 Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel.

I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Barnt Green. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £200. Shortly after, the conveyancing practitioner called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the HSBC panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I have justbeen informed that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Barnt Green for a purchase of a leasehold flat 12 months ago. How can I establish that my home is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest way to check if the property is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Barnt Green conveyancing specialists.

If instructed can a conveyancer remove a person from the title of my home in Barnt Green ?

Subtracting or adding someone to the title of your home is relatively straightforward. You’ll need to appoint a conveyancer to discuss your legal rights before you can proceed with a transfer of property. Contact us to book a free consultation with one a conveyancing practitioner