I am selling my home in Muxton and the EA has just called to advise that the buyers are swapping property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only deal with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Muxton ?

UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in recent years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.

Lending institutions blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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 buyers are not going to have any sway in the decision.

Is there a list of panel solicitors in Muxton on the Building Society Association’s Website?

No. There is no such facility on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of banks make their panel listings open the public on the web. If you are looking for a Muxton on the please use our facility.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Muxton. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £175. A few days later, the contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the 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 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.

I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in November 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, are being problematic. The Muxton solicitor who is on the conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

I am purchasing my first flat in Muxton with a mortgage from . The sellers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about the deal as it would put at risk my mortgage with the lender. 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.

Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Muxton in advance of retaining solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor has said that some banks will refuse to grant a mortgage on such a property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions from Halifax. If you contact us we can check via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Muxton. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

I have been pointed in your direction by a number of property agents in Muxton to choose a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial advantage for Estate Agents to promote your services ahead of alternative conveyancing organisations?

We refuse to make any referral fee for pointing buyers and sellers in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand a fee as members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.