I am selling my apartment in Newtown and the estate agent has just e-mailed to say that the purchasers are changing their conveyancer. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only engage with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Newtown ?

Banks have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.

Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to reveal 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 are unaware that 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.

I am close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our home in Newtown and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. Any high street Newtown lawyer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers are using a national conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Newtown. Having lived in Newtown for 4 years we know that this is a non issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to get confirmation need.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm already. What do they say? You need to check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same ailment)

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my property can not be found. The solicitors who did the conveyancing in Newtown 10 years ago are no longer around. What do I do?

You no longer need to have the physical deeds to prove you are the owner of your registered land or property, as the Land Registry hold details of all registered land or property electronically.

Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Newtown prior to appointing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor has said that some banks may refuse to give a mortgage on this type of house.

It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different instructions from Nationwide. If you contact us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Newtown. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Newtown especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Newtown.

I am using a search engine for the phrase cheap conveyancing in Newtown it shows results of many solicitorsin the vicinity. How do I determine which is the suitable conveyancing solicitor for the sale of my house?

The ideal way of finding a suitable conveyancer is through a trusted recommendation, so seek the guidance of friends and those you trust who have acquired a property in Newtown or the local estate agent or financial adviser. Fees for conveyancing in Newtown differ, so it's a good idea to secure at least three fee estimates from varying types of companies. Dont forget to clarify what costs in the quote includes.