Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my conveyancer in Bellingham is not identified on my bank's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the quality of her work?

It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator indicated that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the solicitor is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Where you are concerned you should contact the Bellingham conveyancing practice and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your mortgage company.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home are lost. The lawyers who dealt with the conveyancing in Bellingham 4 years ago are no longer around. Will I be able to sell the house?

These day there are copies made of almost everything, and your solicitor will be aware exactly where to locate all the appropriate paperwork so you can purchase or dispose of your property without any difficulty. If duplicates can’t be located, your solicitor may be able to put in place insurance or indemnities against possible claims on your property.

I'm buying my first flat in Bellingham with a mortgage from Bank of Ireland. The builders would not budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The property agent suggested that I not inform my conveyancer about the deal as it will adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on last month in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Bellingham is the location of the property. Is there any advice you can give?

Flying freeholds in Bellingham are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Bellingham you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Bellingham may decide 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 residence.

I need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner in Bellingham for my home move. Can I check a firm’s record with the profession’s regulator?

Members of the public can see documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions stemming from investigations commenced on or after 1 January 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For information Pre 2008, or to check a solicitors history, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For non-uk callers, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may recorded call for training reasons.