I am nearing exchange of contracts for my ground floor flat in Margate and the EA has just called to advise that the buyers are changing their conveyancer. The reason given is that the lender will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major mortgage company only deal with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Margate ?

UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for over 25 years.

Mortgage companies blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that 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 buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

We are looking to buy a flat and require a conveyancing solicitor in Margate who is on the Co-operative solicitor panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a firm?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Co-operative . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Margate.

Me and my partner are purchasing a property in Margate. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we will need to send our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

We are purchasing a end of terrace house in Margate. The intention is to carry out a loft conversion at the property.Will legal due diligence on the property include enquiries to see if these alterations are prohibited?

Your solicitor should check the deeds as conveyancing in Margate can on occasion reveal restrictions in the title documents which prohibit certain changes or need the permission of another owner. Many extensions call for local authority planning consent and approval in compliance with building regulations. Certain locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor before you commit yourself to a purchase.

We previously chose conveyancing lawyers located in Margate on the Barclays solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a supplemental fee for the legal aspects of the Barclays mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Barclays?

Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your conveyancer is entitled to levy a fee for this. The fee is not set by Barclays but by your Margate lawyer. Some firms on the Barclays panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.

I am purchasing a new build house in Margate with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to budge the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The property agent suggested that I not inform my lawyer about this deal as it could impact my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I have been advised by many family members to expect up to two months for Margate conveyancing to complete.This was a month ago. The paperwork was only forwarded to my property lawyer last week so does the clock start running now?

There is no official countdown for conveyancing in Margate, or any location. You simply have to ensure that your finances are in order and wait for the rest to come together.