My fiance and I are planning to acquire a flat in Billericay and have appointed a Billericay conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. The Mortgage Works have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Billericay solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Billericay lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

Can your site be used to find a Conveyancing solicitor in Billericay even if I’m not purchasing or disposing of a house, for instance where I want to buy a shop in Billericay with a mortgage from Barnsley Building Society?

Our search tool is primarily used to get a quote from residential conveyancing solicitors in Billericay but we have set out at the bottom of this page some Billericay commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to enquire with the company directly to check if they can also act for Barnsley Building Society

What makes your site different to other web based conveyancing brokers for conveyancing in Billericay?

At this site secure a conveyancing costs illustration from a Solicitor or Licensed Conveyancer that appreciates the nuances for your conveyancing in Billericay. Unlike many estate agents and brokerage sites we do not charge firms a commission if you appoint them for your conveyancing in Billericay

I am looking for a conveyancing lawyer in Billericay for my house move. Is it possible to check a solicitor's complaints history with the legal regulator?

One may see documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from inquisitions commenced on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors history, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. International callers, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may recorded call for training reasons.

We are thinking of choosing a web based lawyer as opposed to a Billericay conveyancing firm. Am I making a mistake?

Advantages do exist in being able to visit a local Billericay conveyancing solicitor such as

• signing papers on short notice
• sometimes being able to speak to someone face-to-face can make a huge difference, particularly for non-standard conveyancing
• the ability to raise concerns if matters are not going as expected

When checking quotes, look out for hidden extras. The majority decent Billericay high street solicitors give an all-inclusive figure. Many online agents appear to offer low cost prices, yet have hidden 'extras' in the small print.