We are buying a 3 bedroom flat in Box with a mortgage. We like our Box lawyer, but the lender advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel firms or continue with our Box property lawyer and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We regard this is unjust; are we not able to require that the lender use our Box lawyer ?

Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Box conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

The owners of the home we are hoping to buy are using a conveyancing solicitor in Box who has insisted on a exclusivity contract with a down payment of 5k. Are such agreements sensible?

This type of arrangement is unusual in Box, conveyancers will often try and steer clients away from them as they detract from the main conveyancing focus and if you end up having your deposit forfeited then the solicitor is left exposed. Furthermore, there is no assurance that just because the owner has executed a lock out agreement they will complete the sale with you. They may be in contravention of the agreement if they are offered a big enough offer to do so because an aggrieved party with the benefit of a exclusivity agreement will still be obliged establish consequential losses from the breach and this may not amount to the financial upside that your seller may secure by reneging on the contract, however morally condemnable it undoubtedly is.

I'm the only beneficiary of my late mum's will and I have everything in my name alone, including the my former home in Box. The Box property was put into my name in January. I plan to dispose of the house. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship will be considered the same way as though I had purchased the house in January. Will no one buy the property for half a year?

The CML handbook obliges solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you might be affected by that. Some banks would take a practical view as this provision principally exists to capture subsales or the flipping of properties.

We are getting a further advance on our home loan from Coventry BS as we wish to conduct alterations to our property in Box. Are we obliged to choose a high street Box solicitor on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

Coventry BS don't usually appoint firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel.

I had an offer accepted on a property in Box on 15/1/2025, valuation was booked five days after, all came back fine. Solicitor instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Lloyds and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. Are Lloyds entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Lloyds to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

Will our conveyancer be raising enquiries about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Box.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers carrying out conveyancing in Box. Plenty of people will buy a property in Box, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the purchaser.

Solicitors are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that can be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should figure out the risks in Box. The standard completed inquiry forms given to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual inquiry of the vendor to determine whether the property has ever been flooded. If the residence has been flooded in past which is not revealed by the vendor, then a buyer could commence a claim for damages resulting from an misleading answer. A purchaser’s lawyers will also order an enviro report. This should reveal whether there is any known flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be initiated.

I acquired a property in Box last 28/11/2023 and to date it is still not registered with HMLR. It is part of a new estate and my solicitor told me that it can take twelve months to complete the registration formalities. I have contacted the Land Registry directly and they say that the original application was cancelled due to failure to reply to requisitions. What can I do?

Contact your conveyancing practitioner - if you are not getting sensible responses, look up their firm’s complaints procedure and escalate your concerns to a Complaints Manager. Registrations for Box conveyancing are not known to be particularly slow.