I am nearing exchange of contracts for my home in Ashford and the estate agent has just called to warn that the buyers are appointing a new conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a big named lender only engage with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Ashford ?

Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for decades.

Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. 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. 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. The purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.

We are purchasing a brand new flat in Ashford and my lawyer is advising me that she is duty bound to the bank to reveal incentives from the builder. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange and I would rather not prolong the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

is it true that all Ashford solicitor firms on the Skipton conveyancing panel are governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Skipton conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of mortgage companies do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be regulated by the CLC.

We had chosen conveyancing lawyers with offices in Ashford on the Santander solicitor approved list. They are now charging me an additional amount for the legal aspects of the Santander mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Santander?

Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your lawyer can charge a fee for this. This charge is not set by Santander but by your Ashford conveyancer. Some firms on the Santander panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.

Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Nationwide. Ashford conveyancing practitioners have been chosen. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Nationwide?

There is no definitive answer here. Have Nationwide completed the survey? Have you advised Nationwide as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

I have todaybeen informed that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Ashford for a purchase of a freehold house 12 months ago. How can I establish that my home is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest way to check if the property is in your name, 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 Ashford conveyancing specialists.

What does commercial conveyancing in Ashford cover?

Non domestic conveyancing in Ashford incorporates a broad array of advice, given by qualified solicitors, relating to business property. By way of example, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more usually, the assignment of existing leases or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial mortgages and the termination of tenancies.