I am progressing with the sale of my ground floor flat in Crowland and the estate agent has just text me to advise that the purchasers are swapping property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only engage with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Crowland ?

UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.

Lenders justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some 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. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

We note that you have a search directory identifying firms on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I instruct them for our conveyancing in Crowland?

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

Is there a search tool that I can utilise to investigate if the solicitor carrying out my conveyancing in Crowland is on the lender’sconveyancing panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for Bank of Ireland thus paying £192.00 in additional conveyancing fees.

Feel free to make the most of the find a conveyancing panel solicitor tool on this web page. Please choose the lender and type ‘Crowland’ or your preferred area and you will see a number of lawyer located in Crowland or near you.

Does a directory service exist listing HSBC panel conveyancers in Crowland on the Building Society Association’s Website?

Unfortunately not yet. There is no such facility on the CML or Building Society Association websites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available online. If you are in need of a Crowland solicitor on the HSBC please make the most of our facility.

My fiancee and I are spending time viewing apartments in Crowland and I am now considering a potential offer. Should I already have a property lawyer in place at this point? I will be getting a mortgage with Clydesdale.

You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the estate agent. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Clydesdale, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in February 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, HSBC are being a right pain. The Crowland solicitor who is on the HSBC conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but HSBC are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do HSBC have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that HSBC have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why HSBC may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a quick, chain free conveyancing. Crowland is the location of the property. Can you offer any opinion?

Flying freeholds in Crowland are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Crowland you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Crowland 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.