I am progressing with the sale of my ground floor flat in Stamfordham and the estate agent has just called to say that the buyers are changing their solicitor. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only engage with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Stamfordham ?

Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.

Banks justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say 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.

We are about to exchange contracts for a garden flat in Stamfordham. We have hit a snag. The loan offer with runs out on but the vendors are putting forward a completion date of . Can one extend the mortgage expiry date?

The person best placed to address this concern is your lawyer who will calculate if he or she is corresponding with the mortgage company, vendor’s lawyers, selling agents or possibly all three given what has gone on in your conveyancing to date.

I am in the process of refinancing my flat in Stamfordham, does my lawyer have to be on the Conveyancing panel?

In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the conveyancing panel, but would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same conveyancing matter.

is it true that all Stamfordham solicitors on the conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?

As solicitors, in order to be on the conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. Many mortgage companies do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the firms would be governed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

I can not fathom if my mortgage offer requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Stamfordham building society branch on various occasions and was informed it wasn't a problem and they would lend. My Stamfordham conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called and was told they will not lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?

Provided that the is on the bank approved list, she or he must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

Planning on purchasing a maisonette in Stamfordham. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Stamfordham is on the conveyancing panel.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Stamfordham - Sample of Questions you should ask before buying

Most Stamfordham leasehold apartments will have a service bill for the upkeep of the building set by the management company. Should you buy the flat you will have to meet this amount, usually periodically during the year. This can differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say about £25-£75 but you should to check as on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. For many Stamfordham leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be wrapped into the maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Stamfordham obliged tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for major repairs or maintenance. Does the lease contain onerous restrictions?