My wife and I are intending to acquire a 1 bedroom flat in Lozells with a mortgage. We like our Lozells lawyer, however the lender advise he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel solicitors or keep our Lozells solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. This seems very unfair; are we not able to require that the mortgage company use our Lozells conveyancing practitioner ?

No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Lozells conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

Is there a search tool that I can use to discover of the solicitor carrying out my conveyancing in Lozells is on the mortgage lender’sconveyancing panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for Godiva Mortgages Ltd thus paying £192.00 in another set of conveyancing charges.

Please do make the most of the find a conveyancing panel solicitor tool on this web page. Pick the mortgage company and type ‘Lozells’ or your preferred area and you will be presented with numerous conveyancers based in Lozells or nearest you.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Lozells is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Lozells are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Lozells you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Lozells may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.

Am I right to be concerned that 3rd parties that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a web based conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Lozells conveyancing firm?

As with many professional services, often input from connections can be very helpful. Nevertheless there are lots of people with a keen interest in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, financial adviser and mortgage companies may put forward conveyancers to retain. On occasion the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but sometimes there exists a financial incentive behind the endorsement. You are free to choose your preferred conveyancer. However, bear in mind that some mortgage providers specify a panel list of law firms you must use for the mortgage related work in your transaction.

My lawyer in Lozells is asking me for proof of ID documents saying that this is part of his legal duty as a conveyancer on the bank Conveyancing panel. Can this be correct?

Due to Money Laundering Regulations your conveyancing lawyer is duty bound to confirm positively your identification when entering into a business relationship with you. It is a criminal offence if your lawyer not do this. If you do not provide ID early in the transaction the solicitor must refuse to act for you. It’s unlikely a lawyer will turn you away if you come to the first meeting without relevant ID but you will have to produce it at some point so you might as well bring it with you to the initial meeting so the lawyer can tick the ID verification box and start sorting out the conveyancing straight away. If you are getting a mortgage, your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy the bank. This is not specific to conveyancing in Lozells