I am six weeks into the sale of my maisonette in Skegness and the EA has just called to advise that the purchasers are swapping conveyancer. The reason given is that the lender will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named lender only deal with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Skegness ?

Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.

Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to disclose 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 purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

Please explain the implications if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Skegness?

First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.

I need some expedited conveyancing in Skegness as I have pressure to sign on the dotted line in less than one month. A mortgage is not required. Can I avoid the conveyancing searches to save money and time?

If.Given you are not getting a home loan you have the choice not to do searches although no conveyancer would suggest that you don't. Drawing on years of experience of conveyancing in Skegness the following are instances of issues that can appear and therefore impact the marketability of the property: Refused Planning Applications, Overdue Fees, Outstanding Grants, Unadopted Roads,...

It has been 2 months since my purchase conveyancing in Skegness concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

I need to find a conveyancing solicitor for remortgage conveyancing in Skegness. I happened to land on a site which seems to have the ideal offering If it is possible to get all this stuff done via phone that would be preferable. Should I be concerned? What are the potential pitfalls?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?