I am progressing with the sale of my maisonette in Haslemere and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the purchasers are appointing a new property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading lender only deal with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Haslemere ?

UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.

Mortgage companies blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to reveal 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. 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 unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

My bid for a property was accepted at auction in Haslemere. Conveyancing is needed. What happens now?

Given that you are now to all intents and purposes signed on the dotted line you must appoint a conveyancing solicitor soon as you now have a fast approaching a fixed date to complete the conveyancing. Every auction property will ordinarily have a bespoke auction pack. This will likely include evidence of title and search results. In the case of leasehold property the auction papers may contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing paperwork specific to a leasehold property. You must give this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that you have funds in place to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

I have been advised by my solicitor that absentee landlord insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Haslemere conveyancing?

The right level of absentee landlord indemnity insurance should be dictated by who your lender. It would differ for example between HSBC Bank and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to borrowers take out such insurances.

Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Haslemere. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?

Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.

Will my lawyer be asking questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Haslemere.

Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers specialising in conveyancing in Haslemere. Plenty of people will purchase a house in Haslemere, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.

Conveyancers are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a numerous checks that can be undertaken by the buyer or by their lawyers which should figure out the risks in Haslemere. The conventional set of information supplied to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a standard question of the owner to determine if the premises has suffered from flooding. If the property has been flooded in past which is not notified by the owner, then a purchaser could bring a legal claim for losses stemming from an incorrect response. A buyer’s lawyers will also commission an enviro search. This will disclose whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries will need to be carried out.

I have todayfound out that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Haslemere for a purchase of a leasehold flat 9 months ago. How can I check that my home is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest method to check 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 Haslemere conveyancing specialists.

Me and my partner are purchasing a 2 bedroom first floor flatin Haslemere with a mortgage from a lender. We wish to instruct our lawyer in Haslemere however our lender says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint from the our lender panel firms or stay with our Haslemere solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent our lender. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that our mortgage company use our Haslemere lawyer?

No, not really. The mortgage company mortgage issued is subject to conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank's conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had open panels, including almost all conveyancing solicitors in Haslemere : a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your bank.