I am nearing exchange of contracts for my maisonette in Hetton Le Hole and the estate agent has just called to warn that the purchasers are changing their property lawyer. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named lender only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Hetton Le Hole ?

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 considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.

Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened 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. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

Me and my partner are due to exchange on the purchase of a property in Hetton Le Hole but as a consequence of damage from the recent storms I have managed to agree recompense from the current proprietors in the sum of £2k by way of a reduction in the price. This was going to be addressed as part of amending the contract yet Leeds Building Society will not agree to this. Should they have been involved?

Your lawyer being on a Leeds Building Society approved list is duty bound to inform Leeds Building Society of any amendments to the sale price. If you prohibit your solicitor to notify the reduction to Leeds Building Society then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Leeds Building Society and you would have to appoint a new solicitor for your conveyancing in Hetton Le Hole.

My home in Hetton Le Hole is up for sale and I have accepted an offer. Will the solicitor need to be required to be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Nottingham conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.

Taking into account that I am about to spend £400,000 on a house in Hetton Le Hole I would like to have a conversation with the lawyer regarding theconveyancing ahead of appointing the firm. Can this be arranged?

Absolutely - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the solicitor who will be carrying out your conveyancing in Hetton Le Hole.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is unique person, not a file number. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are calculated and presented to you for residential conveyancing in Hetton Le Hole should be the amount on the final invoice that you end up paying.

In my capacity as executor for the will of my uncle I am selling a residence in Neath but I am based in Hetton Le Hole. My conveyancer (who is 300 kilometers from merequires that I execute a statutory declaration before completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Hetton Le Hole to witness this legal document for me?

Technically speaking you are unlikely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or solicitor will do regardless of whether they are located in Hetton Le Hole