I am nearing exchange of contracts for my house in Pinner and the estate agent has just called to say that the purchasers are swapping law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named lender only deal with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Pinner ?

Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the last few 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 over 25 years.

Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms 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 impact on this.

My wife and I are acquiring a newly constructed duplex in Pinner and my lawyer is telling me that she has to the lender to reveal incentives from the builder. I am under pressure to exchange and my preference is not to prolong matters. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

Please explain the implications if my solicitor is removed from the Yorkshire BS Solicitor panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Pinner?

The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.

Should our solicitor be raising enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Pinner.

Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers dealing with homes in Pinner. Some people will buy a property in Pinner, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical damage, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.

Lawyers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, but there are a various searches that can be carried out by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better appreciation of the risks in Pinner. The conventional set of information supplied to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a standard question of the owner to determine whether the property has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred and is not revealed by the owner, then a purchaser may commence a legal claim for losses as a result of such an inaccurate reply. The purchaser’s conveyancers may also order an enviro report. This should indicate whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be conducted.

I used Action Conveyancing a few years ago for my conveyancing in Pinner. I now require my file however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Pinner of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.