My husband and I are planning to purchase a house in Killay and have instructed a Killay conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. TSB have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Killay solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Killay lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Killay. I I would like to check whether they are on the Lloyds TSB Bank conveyancing panel. Can you or the lender confirm if they are on the panel?

The first thing to do is contact the conveyancer and ask them if they can act for the bank. Alternatively you should get in touch with Lloyds TSB Bank who may be able to confirm.

Just acquired a terraced house in Killay , What is the estimated time for the Land Registry to deal with the formalities evidencing the transfer to my name? My Killay conveyancing solicitor has been painfully slow, so I want to check that my ownership is registered.

There is nothing unique about conveyancing in Killay registration formalities. Rather than based on location, timeframes can differ depending on the party submitting the application, whether there are errors and whether the Land registry must send notices to any 3rd parties. Currently approximately three quarters of submission are completed within two weeks but some can be subject to extensive hold-ups. Historically registration occurs once the buyer is living at the property thus 'speed' is not always top priority yet where there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your solicitor must speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.

I am 18 days into a residential purchase having been referred to a firm by the local agent to do our conveyancing in Killay. I am am extremely frustrated with the quality of service. Can you you assist me in finding new conveyancers?

They would have to be really poor to suggest changing them. Has the mortgage been generated? In the event that it has you will need to make them aware of the replacement conveyancer and ensure the loan are issued to the new lawyers. Your solicitor ideally should be on the banks approved list to avoid supplemental expenses and complications. That should be your starting point. The search tool can assist you in finding a bank approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Killay

My wife and I have selected a Killay conveyancing solicitor for our house purchase (FTB’s) and have noticed in the terms and conditions that they are not governed by the Financial Conduct Authority. Am I right to be worried or is that usually the case with conveyancer?

We can't see why they should be. Most lawyer don't lend money. You should check that they are regulated by the SRA, who have strict obligations regulating amounts sitting in their bank.