I am progressing with the sale of my apartment in Buckingham and the EA has just called to advise that the purchasers are changing their property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only deal with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Buckingham ?

UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.

Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. 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. 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. The purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

Having sold my house in Buckingham last September but the buyer keeps SMS messaging every few hours to say their lawyer is waiting to hear from mylawyer. What should my lawyer have done now that I have sold?

Following your disposal your conveyancer is committed to forward the transfer deeds and all supplemental paperwork to the purchaser's solicitors. If applicable, your lawyer should also send confirmation that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been repaid to the buyers solicitors. There is unlikely to be post completion requirements peculiar conveyancing in Buckingham.

I can see plenty of information on this site concerning conveyancing in Buckingham but what is your top tip for finding the right conveyancer in Buckingham

It would be unwise to be tempted by the lowest Buckingham conveyancing fees. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of the deal.

I just bought a property at auction in Buckingham. Conveyancing is required. What is next?

Given that you are now legally bound yourself to purchase you should retain a conveyancing solicitor as a matter of urgency as you now have a pending a fixed date to complete the deal. All auction property will ordinarily have a corresponding legal pack. This will likely include evidence of title and search results. In the case of leasehold property the conveyancing pack should provide a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing paperwork pertinent to leasehold premises. You should hand this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor ASAP. You also need to ensure that that you have the requisite funding organised to complete on the date specified in the contract.

I had an offer accepted on a house in Buckingham on 4/12/2025, valuation was booked 4 days later, all came back fine. Conveyancer retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Yorkshire BS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Yorkshire BS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

How does conveyancing in Buckingham differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Buckingham approach us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Buckingham usually purchase the land, 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 conveyancers 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 used to new build conveyancing in Buckingham or who has acted in the same development.

In my capacity as executor for the will of my grandmother I am disposing of a house in Swansea but reside in Buckingham. My lawyer (approximately 250 kilometers awayneeds me to sign a stat dec ahead of completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Buckingham to witness and place their company stamp on the document?

Technically speaking you are unlikely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are Buckingham based