I am selling my flat in Westminster and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are switching solicitor. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major mortgage company only deal with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Westminster ?

Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.

Banks attribute this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to disclose 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. Some do not even realise 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.

Can the conveyancing solicitors highlighted via your ’find a lawyer’ app conduct right to buy conveyancing in Westminster?

We do have plenty of conveyancing specialists carrying out right to buy conveyancing work Please call the lawyers listed with a view to secure a conveyancing quote.

I am selling my flat in Westminster. Will the have to be on the conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the 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 requirements fairly frequently in recent years.

My business partner and I are looking to take an assignment of a lease of a shop on a shopping parade. Can you recommend conveyancers offering fixed charges for non-domestic conveyancing in Westminster for less than £1,200?

We can recommend firms who have an in-depth of experience of commercial conveyancing in Westminster, including the sale and acquisition of businesses as well as simply property. If you are looking to purchase or sell a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail premises or a complete business we will put you in touch with the right lawyer. Regarding the fees this will depend on the structure and terms of the deal. Please provide us with your details or call us so that we may supply you with a fixed commercial conveyancing quote.

Is it best to choose a Westminster conveyancing practitioner based in the vicinity that I am purchasing? An old friend can carry out the conveyancing however her office is over three hundred kilometers drive away.

The benefit of a local Westminster conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to execute documents, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Westminster know how is a benefit. However it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who instructed your friend and the majority were happy that should surpass using an unknown Westminster conveyancing lawyer just because they are local.