I am selling my home in Uckfield and the EA has just e-mailed to advise that the purchasers are appointing a new conveyancer. The reason given is that the bank will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading lender only deal with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Uckfield ?

Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can represent 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 attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – 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 claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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. The purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.

Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in Uckfield is more expensive?

Uckfield leasehold properties involve far more paperwork than a freehold purchase, and therefore takes more time to examine and advise upon.Conveyancing will involve the lease having to be checked which is usually a lengthy document, queries raised to ensure that the covenants and conditions have been observed. If it is a flat there will be a management company in existence and the accounts of this will need to be checked and enquiries raised to ensure it is operating efficiently and that all monies due have been paid by the Seller to the company and if not ensuring that money is paid up to date or the appropriate undertakings obtained.

I have recentlyfound out that Wolstenholmes have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Uckfield for a purchase of a leasehold flat 9 months ago. How can I check that my home is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?

The easiest method to check if the property is in your name, you can carry out 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 Uckfield conveyancing specialists.

How does conveyancing in Uckfield differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Uckfield come to us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is ready to move into. This is because new home sellers in Uckfield typically purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Uckfield or who has acted in the same development.

I'm converting the mortgage on my existing home to a BTL mortgage with Chelsea Building Society and intend to use the remaining equity as a down payment on further property. The location we are talking about is Uckfield. Will your solicitors be able to act for both sets of banks and link together the transactions?

Do use our comparison tool on this page to check that the lawyers are approved by both mortgage companies. On the basis that they are your lawyer will be able to connect the two deals but you should have a chat with you lawyer and communicate your expectations and needs.