My wife and I are purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in Sneyd Green with a mortgage. We like our Sneyd Green conveyancer, however the lender advise he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have no option but to use one of the bank panel firms or retain our Sneyd Green solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We consider that this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’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 Sneyd Green conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

I have recentlybecome aware that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Sneyd Green for a purchase of a freehold house 12 months ago. How can I establish that the property is not still registered in the name of the former proprietor?

The easiest method to see if the premises is in your name, you can make 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 Sneyd Green conveyancing specialists.

I decided to have a survey carried out on a house in Sneyd Green ahead of appointing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor advised that some banks will not grant a loan on this type of home.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Sneyd Green. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

Hoping to buy a property located in Sneyd Green and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Sneyd Green. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Sneyd Green area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Sneyd Green. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

My 20yr old son is embarking on her first house purchase, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. When the offer was accepted on apartment we contacted the bank to progress the mortgage application. I was disappointed to discover that banks do not accept all solicitor, they have to be on a list, is this legal?

Mortgage Companies tend to restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing practices on their approved list of lawyers. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that lenders have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Sneyd Green conveyancing practitioner on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Presumably not.