I am selling my flat in Newington and the EA has just e-mailed to advise that the buyers are appointing a new law firm. The excuse is that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Newington ?

Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.

Lenders attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – 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 do not even realise 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 sway in the decision.

We are buying a house in Newington. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we have to put funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

Is it the case that all Newington CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Co-operative conveyancing list of approved solicitors?

Some major banks and building societies now utilise CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to join their approved list of firms.

Does a directory service exist listing Clydesdale panel conveyancers in Newington on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?

No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. A small selection of lending institutions make their panel listings open the public online. Where you are in need of a Newington conveyancing practitioner on the Clydesdale please make the most of our tool.

What will a local search reveal about the house my wife and I purchasing in Newington?

Newington conveyancing often commences with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search company for instance Onsearch The local search is essential in every Newington conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search should provide data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 topic sections.

I'm buying a new build house in Newington with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The property agent suggested that I not to tell my conveyancer about this deal as it would affect my loan with Nottingham Building Society. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Newington is where the house is located. Can you offer any advice?

Flying freeholds in Newington are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Newington you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Newington may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.