I am nearing exchange of contracts for my apartment in Chapeltown and the estate agent has just e-mailed to say that the purchasers are appointing a new conveyancer. The excuse is that the lender will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only work with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Chapeltown ?

Banks have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.

Banks justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices 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. Your buyers are not going to have any impact on this.

My fiance and I intend to remortgage our apartment in Chapeltown with Kent Reliance. We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his rights to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your Kent Reliance conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Kent Reliance. This is solely used to protect Kent Reliance if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Kent Reliance had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.

When reading consumer advice sites for an online lawyer in Chapeltown, most post that I must instruct a CQS assured solicitor. What is CQS?

Chapeltown Conveyancing Quality Scheme law firms have obtained certification by the law Society CQS was established to establish evidence of quality standards in the home legal process. CQS enables consumers to recognise solicitor firms that provide a quality residential conveyancing. Chapeltown is one of the many areas in England and Wales in which CQS have offices. The scheme requires law firms to undergo a strict assessment, compulsory training, self-reporting, random audits and annual reviews in order to maintain CQS status. It is available to solicitors and not licensed conveyancers and has the support of the Building Societies Association.

Have completed on a a detached house in Chapeltown , how long will it take for the Land Registry to record my title? My Chapeltown conveyancing solicitor has been painfully slow, so I want to check that my ownership is recorded.

There is nothing unique when it comes to conveyancing in Chapeltown registration formalities. Rather than based on location, timescales can vary depending on who lodges the application, whether it is in order and if the Land registry communicate with any third persons or bodies. As of today roughly 80% of such applications are completed within two weeks but occasionally there can be protracted delays. Historically registration occurs after the purchaser is living at the premises so 'speed' is not always an essential issue yet if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your conveyancer should speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.

What tools are available to locate a Chapeltown law firm on the The Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel? I have wheels and am prepared to travel upto 20miles to meet the solicitor.

Feel free to make use of the tool on this page. Please pick a bank and your location and you will see a number of Chapeltown conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some Chapeltown conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can telephone them to verify if they are on the The Royal Bank of Scotland approved list