Can you clarify what the consequences are if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the Co-operative Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Oxford?

First, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.

Is it the case that all Oxford solicitors on the Skipton conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Skipton approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the SRA. Many mortgage companies do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the practice would be overseen by the CLC.

We previously instructed conveyancers with offices in Oxford on the Lloyds solicitor panel. They have just billed me an additional fee for handling the Lloyds mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Lloyds?

Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your lawyer may charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by Lloyds but by your Oxford property lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Lloyds panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but many firms include it on their overall fee.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Oxford. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £150. A couple of days later, the conveyancer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Lloyds panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Oxford?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Oxford. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Oxford I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Oxford in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?

Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.

I am unable to attend my Oxford conveyancing practitioners office to sign documents for conveyancing in Oxford – will this be problematic?

No. Oxford conveyancing lawyers can undertake home moves for clients wider afield. You are unlikely to be required to visit a Oxford conveyancers office. They can undertake all communications remotely from their Oxford premises.