Me and my fiance are intending to acquire a 3 bedroom apartment in Sedbergh with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Sedbergh conveyancer, but the bank says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or keep our Sedbergh conveyancing practitioner as well as pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. This feels very unfair; can we not insist that the mortgage company use our Sedbergh solicitor ?

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 Sedbergh conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

I have given 8 weeks notice to my current landlord and must leave my rented flat in Sedbergh by the end of next month. Conveyancing for my house purchase is progressing. How realistic is it to complete in a couple of weeks as I wish to avoid having to move into temporary accommodation?

It is unwise to give notice for your tenancy until your lawyer suggests that you should. Assuming that you have not already done so, update to your solicitor and request that they cajole the sellers lawyers, try to get a realistic time scale from them that everyone will work to achieve

As someone unfamiliar with the Sedbergh conveyancing process what’s the number one tip you can give me for the ownership transfer in Sedbergh

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Sedbergh or throughout England and Wales is often a confrontational process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists lots of opportunity for conflict between you and other parties involved in the ownership transfer. For instance, the seller, property agent and sometimes your mortgage company. Appointing a law firm for your conveyancing in Sedbergh an important selection as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE party in the transaction whose interest is to look after your legal interests and to keep you safe.

We are witnessing a distinct ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone must be at fault for the process taking so long. We recommend that you should always trust your solicitor ahead of the other parties in the home moving process.

I am thinking of remortgaging my house in Sedbergh, does my lawyer need to be on the Kent Reliance Solicitor panel?

There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor, but Kent Reliance will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is much more potential for delays and confusion with two solicitors involved, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.

Is it correct that all Sedbergh CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the HSBC conveyancing list of approved firms?

A selection of lenders now use CQS as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their panels.

When it comes to lenders such as Nottingham, do Sedbergh solicitors have to pay a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?

We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

Planning on purchasing a house in Sedbergh. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Sedbergh lawyer is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel.