My wife and I are hoping to buy a house in Farnham and have instructed a Farnham conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Aldermore have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Farnham conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Farnham lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Farnham for our house move. Our financial adviser informed us that our bank Virgin Money won't deal with them. Surely this is unduly restrictive?

Before the recession most banks had an appetite for risk which was higher than today. Almost all Farnham conveyancing firms would have been on most mortgage company panels. The FSA in 2010 carried out a thematic investigation into mortgage fraud which concluded: mortgage lenders should know the conveyancing solicitors dealt with. Consequently, mortgage companies are increasingly seeing more information from law firms about their operations and the individuals who work for them as well as set certain criteria such a completing on a minimum number of conveyancing. Many Farnham conveyancing firms that have been excluded from lender panels have a 100% healthy track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Farnham is amongst the many areas where the conveyancers we recommend are are authorised to act for Virgin Money.

Will commercial conveyancing searches reveal planned roadworks that could impact a commercial land in Farnham?

Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Farnham will conduct a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers spend in investigating accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Farnham. The search result provides definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Farnham.

For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Farnham it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately can cause delays to Farnham commercial conveyancing deals as well as pose a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not conducted for residential conveyancing in Farnham.

I used Action Conveyancing a few years ago for my conveyancing in Farnham. I now require my file however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Farnham of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

Is it simple use the search tool to find a conveyancing lawyer in Farnham on the approved list for my bank?

Step one is to choose a bank such as Santander, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society or Alliance & Leicester then specify your location a common one being Farnham. Conveyancing organisations in Farnham and across England and Wales will then be shown.