I am in the process of selling my house in Edingale and the EA has just called to advise that the buyers are swapping property lawyer. The reason given is that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named lender only deal with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Edingale ?

Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.

Lending institutions blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say 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 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 purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.

Are all Edingale Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the TSB conveyancing panel?

Some major banks and building societies now use the accreditation scheme as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their panels.

Is it the case that all Edingale solicitor firms on the Santander conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Santander approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the SRA. Some banks do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be regulated by the CLC.

I can not fathom if my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have called into my local Edingale building society branch on a couple of occasions and was advised it wasn't an issue and they will lend. My Edingale conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called to say that they will not lend in accordance with their specific requirements. Who do I believe?

As long as the conveyancing practitioner is on the lender approved list, she or he must comply with the CML Handbook requirements for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

I have justbecome aware that Arc property Solicitors have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Edingale for a purchase of a freehold house 9 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?

The easiest method to see if the property is registered to you, you can carry out 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 Edingale conveyancing specialists.

Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Edingale in advance of appointing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend refuse to give a mortgage on a flying freehold house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can check with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Edingale. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Edingale to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

As co-executor for the will of my father I am disposing of a property in Newport but reside in Edingale. My solicitor (based 260 miles awayneeds me to execute a stat dec ahead of the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing practitioner in Edingale who can witness this legal document for me?

Technically speaking you should not need to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or qualified solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are based in Edingale