I am one month into the sale of my home in St James and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are changing their solicitor. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only work with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in St James ?

UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.

Lenders blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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 unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

Having sold my house in St James last August yet the purchaser is whats apping daily to moan that her lawyer needs to hear from myconveyancer. What are the post completion sale formalities now that I have sold?

Following your house sale your conveyancer is duty bound to deliver the transfer documentation and all additional paperwork to the purchaser's lawyers. Depending on the transaction, your solicitor must also confirm that the home loan has been paid off to the purchasers solicitors. There are no post completion procedures just for conveyancing in St James.

I am looking to buy a property and need a conveyancing solicitor in St James who is on the Bank of Ireland solicitor. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a firm?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Bank of Ireland in certain locations such as St James. We dont recommend any particular firm.

3 months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in St James took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £170,000. 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 asset 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 am looking for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and identified one close by in St James I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in St James in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.