My wife and I are buying a 1 bedroom apartment in Hythe with a mortgage. We have a Hythe lawyer, but the bank advise she’s not on their "panel". It appears that we have little choice but to use one of the lender panel solicitors or continue with our Hythe property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: 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. Another option that might be available is for your Hythe conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

My wife and I are refinancing our penthouse in Hythe with Clydesdale. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this document specific to the Clydesdale conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his entitlement to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale. This is solely used to protect Clydesdale 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 Clydesdale 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.

A relative suggested that if I am purchasing in Hythe I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Hythe conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Hythe around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Hythe Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Hythe.

I'm refinancing my existing property to a buy to let loan with Clydesdale and intend to use the remaining equity as a down payment on further house. The location we are talking about is Hythe. Will your lawyers be able to act for both sets of mortgage companies and link together the conveyances?

Make use of our comparison tool on this page to ensure that the conveyancers are approved by both mortgage companies. On the basis that they are your solicitor should be able to simultaneously deal with the two conveyancing matters but you should have a chat with you lawyer and specify your expectations and requirements.

Is it the case that all Hythe law firms on every bank conveyancing panel?

You can use our search tool or you can pop into your local bank branch in Hythe. the probability is that they can recommend conveyancing solicitors in Hythe