I am progressing with the sale of my apartment in Cambridgeshire and the estate agent has just telephoned to say that the purchasers are switching property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named lender only work with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Cambridgeshire ?

Banks have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.

Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms 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 buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.

I am acquiring a house mortgage free in Cambridgeshire. I have resided for the previous Seventeen years in Cambridgeshire. Conveyancing searches are a lot of money. As I know the area and road intimately should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?

If you not getting a mortgage, then almost all of the Cambridgeshire conveyancing searches are optional. Your conveyancer will ’encourage you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches done, but he has a professional duty to take that path of advice. One thing to take into account; if you are going to sell the house in the future, it could be of relevance to your prospective purchaser what the searches determine. Sometimes premises with functional issues can still reveal unpredicted search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Cambridgeshire should be able to give you some helpful guidance here.

Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in Cambridgeshire. My lender is Virgin

Virgin have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 25/1/2025, the requirements read as follows :

I have a renovated Georgian property in Cambridgeshire. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and HSBC Bank. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Cambridgeshire and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also check the position with your conveyancing lawyer who carried out the work.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Cambridgeshire is where the house is located. Is there any guidance you can impart?

Flying freeholds in Cambridgeshire are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Cambridgeshire you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Cambridgeshire may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.