I am one month into the sale of my apartment in Boldon and the EA has just telephoned to say that the buyers are switching law firm. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading mortgage company only engage with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Boldon ?

Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for over 25 years.

Lending institutions justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some 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 buyers are not going to have any impact on this.

We see that you have a post code search directory listing firms on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I instruct them for our own conveyancing in Boldon?

We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Boldon.

We're in Boldon, First timers buying with a mortgage (lender is Coventry BS , and our solicitor is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?

The fact that your lawyer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.

I'm refinancing my primary house to a BTL mortgage with Barclays and I will use the rest of the raised equity towards further house. The neighborhood we are looking at is Boldon. Will your lawyers be able to act for both sets of lenders and link together the two deals?

Make use of our comparison tool on this site to ensure that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panels. Having checked that they are your lawyer should be able to tie up the two transactions but you should talk with you solicitor and make apparent your expectations and needs.

Should one remove a deceased person's details from the title deeds for a house in Boldon?

Where a Boldon property is co-owned and one of the owners dies, the name will not immediately be removed from the title deeds. You are not required to amend the title as when it comes to a disposal you would just be asked to evidence as to the reason the other proprietor is not a party to the conveyance, usually this takes the form of a grant of probate.

With a view to making the sale conveyancing more straight forward for the sale of the property you can arrange to have the deceased name removed from the title by submitting an application to HMLR with evidence of the death. There is no charge from the Registry for this service.