Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor in Wetherby is not identified on my lender's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the quality of the firm’s conveyancing?

That is most likely an incorrect assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly plausible explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator indicated that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Should you be concerned you should contact the Wetherby conveyancing practice and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your lender.

Can you help? My Wetherby solicitor is advising me that she is duty bound toorder Wetherby conveyancing searches due to the fact thatthe firm are on the Nat Westsolicitor panel. Is this really necessary?

Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. Given that you are taking out a loan with a bank your solicitor has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your conveyancing practitioner would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Wetherby conveyancing searches.

I happen to be the single beneficiary of my late grandmother’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Wetherby. The Wetherby property was put into my name in November. I plan to dispose of the house. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my property ownership may be considered the same way as if I'd bought the house in November. Will no one buy the property for half a year?

The CML handbook obliges conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you may be impacted by that. Some lenders would take a sensible view as this requirement is chiefly there to identify subsales or the flipping of properties.

When it comes to mortgage companies such as Nottingham, do Wetherby solicitors have to pay a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?

We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to be on their panel, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Wetherby. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £200. Not long after, the solicitor contacted me to say that they were not on the Barclays 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 Barclays 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 identified as part of conveyancing in Wetherby?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Wetherby. 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…’

I am purchasing a house mortgage free. I have provided conveyancer with 2 separate evidence of photo identification, bank statement, multiple utility bills. Now he requires a copy from a probate lawyer advising that the money is in order and that it has come from inheritance and not selling fake watches.

In today’s world you will not be able to complete any Wetherby conveyancing transaction without first providing evidence of your identity to your lawyers. This usually takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence and a utility bill. Remember if you are providing your driving licence as evidence of ID it must be both the paper part and photo card part, one is not acceptable without the other. Establishing of your source of funds is required under Money Laundering Regulations.