My wife and I are planning to buy a home in Southborough and have instructed a Southborough conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. HSBC Bank have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Southborough lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?

If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Southborough solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

I am selling my flat in Southborough. Will the lawyer have to be required to be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Nationwide 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 specifications fairly frequently currently.

How does conveyancing in Southborough differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build property in Southborough approach us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is completed. This is because house builders in Southborough usually purchase the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Southborough or who has acted in the same development.

I am looking to sell my property. My previous lawyers has retired. I am in need of a recommendation of a conveyancing firm. I happen to live in Southborough if that makes things easier.

You should use our search tool to help you find a solicitor for your conveyancing in Southborough. We have connected thousands of home buyers and sellers with lender approved solicitors to ensure that the legalities of their house move goes with a minimum of fuss.

We have selected a Southborough conveyancing solicitor for our home move (novice purchasers) and have picked up in the terms and conditions that they are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Should I be worried or is that standard with solicitor?

We can't see why they should be. Most solicitor don't lend money. You should check that they are governed by the SRA, who dictate stringent obligations covering amounts sitting in their bank.