My partner and I are buying a newly constructed apartment in Prescot and my conveyancer is advising me that she is duty bound to the bank to disclose incentives from the builder. I am under pressure to sign contracts and my preference is not to delay the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?

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

Do I choose a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in Prescot?

Two types of professional can execute conveyancing in Prescot namely licenced conveyancers or solicitors. Both professionals provide conveyancing services that required to complete the disposal or acquisition of property. They are both obliged to carry out Prescot conveyancing to the same standards and guidelines so you may be sure that your conveyancing will be professionally carried out and that all requisite procedures should be appropriately taken.

My lawyer has informed me that missing deeds insurance is required on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Prescot conveyancing?

The appropriate level of missing deeds indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Nationwide Building Society and Coventry Building Society. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to borrowers take out such insurances.

Having digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Prescot solicitor - who is on the Principality conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?

Principality will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Principality will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Prescot surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

A friend recommended that if I am buying in Prescot I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

This is a search is usually quoted for as part of the standard Prescot conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Prescot around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Prescot Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Prescot.

The deeds to my house are lost. The solicitors who handled the conveyancing in Prescot 10 years ago have long since closed. Will I be able to sell the house?

Gone are the days when you need to hold title deeds to establish that you own the land or property, as the Land Registry have everything they need in a digital format.

I need to find a mortgage company panel solicitor in Prescot. Could you help me?

It is not clear why you need a Prescot panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to the bank to find out which solicitors in Prescot are on their panel . If you do find such a firm in Prescot not listed please direct them to our site to list. At a fee of one pound per month it is not expensive to register on the site