I am progressing with the sale of my ground floor flat in Bryn Y Baal and the EA has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are swapping conveyancer. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a major mortgage company only work with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Bryn Y Baal ?

Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.

Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

My bid for a property was accepted at auction in Bryn Y Baal. Conveyancing is required. What are my next steps?

Now that you are legally committed yourself to purchase you now have to retain a conveyancing solicitor soon as you now have a tight deadline in which to complete the conveyancing. Every auction property should have a corresponding legal set of papers. This will include evidence of title and search results. Where you are dealing with leasehold premises the legal pack may provide a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation specific to leasehold premises. You must hand this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor ASAP. You also need to ensure that your finances are in order to complete on the date specified in the contract.

The mortgage over my property is with HSBC for my property in Bryn Y Baal. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform HSBC?

You must advise HSBC prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of HSBC’s mortgage conditions. It may be that HSBC will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact HSBC directly. You need not do this via a HSBC conveyancing panel firm.

At last I have had an offer on a maisonette in Bryn Y Baal agreed to, but there is a chain. The vendors have put an offer on somewhere, however it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other flats in the pipeline. I have selected a local conveyancing solicitor in Bryn Y Baal. What do I do now? When do I get the mortgage application with Co-operative started?

It is normal to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Bryn Y Baal conveyancing search fees, etc). The first thing to do is check that your solicitor is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Concerning the subsequent steps this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your transaction, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market many purchasers will apply for the mortgage with Co-operative and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their property lawyer to press on with searches.

Should commercial conveyancing searches disclose proposed roadworks that may impact a commercial premises in Bryn Y Baal?

Many commercial conveyancing solicitors in Bryn Y Baal will carry out a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers spend in sourcing accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Bryn Y Baal. The report sets out definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Bryn Y Baal.

For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Bryn Y Baal it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. The absence of identifying developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately could cause delays to Bryn Y Baal commercial conveyancing transactions as well as present a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not conducted for residential conveyancing in Bryn Y Baal.

How simple is it to change conveyancer as I need to instruct a firm on the HSBC Bank conveyancing list. I instructed a local conveyancing solicitor in Bryn Y Baal round the corner but he is not approved by HSBC Bank

It would be our pleasure to assist you select a conveyancing solicitor in Bryn Y Baal on the HSBC Bank panel. Please note that the property lawyers that we on the directory do not pay us a referral fee if you instruct them and are registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Bryn Y Baal. Using search facility on this page, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Bryn Y Baal.

I need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer in Bryn Y Baal for my purchase. Is it possible to check a solicitor's record with the profession’s regulator?

Anyone may see published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations arising from inquisitions commenced on or after 1 January 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For information Pre 2008, or to check a firm's history, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator could monitor call for training purposes.