I have been recommended a conveyancing solicitor in Acton. I I am struggling to find out whether they are on the Clydesdale approved list of lawyers. Could you assist?

You should contact the conveyancer and ask them if they can act for the bank. Alternatively please get in touch with Clydesdale who may be able to help.

We previously appointed conveyancers with offices in Acton on the Principality solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a supplemental charge for dealing with the Principality mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Principality?

As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your solicitor may charge a fee for this. This charge is not set by Principality but by your Acton lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Principality panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but many firms incorporate it on their overall fee.

My wife and I have organised the release of further monies on our mortgage from Lloyds as we wish to conduct improvements to our property in Acton. Do we need to select a high street Acton solicitor on the Lloyds conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?

Lloyds don't usually instruct a member of their conveyancing panel to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Lloyds conveyancing panel.

UBS have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a apartment in Acton has been accepted, what happens next?

Your estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the conveyancers are on the bank’s panel). Call up UBS or the broker and finalise any relevant paperwork. UBS will appoint a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or seller to arrange an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about a fortnight to receive the mortgage offer. UBS will issue the offer to you and your solicitors. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Acton.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Acton?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Acton. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I'm buying a new build house in Acton benefiting from help to buy. The sellers would not budge the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not reveal to my lawyer about the side-deal as it could jeopardize my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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.

Me and my wife have just had an offer agreed on a flat and had an appointment on Tuesday with Leeds Building Society for the mortgage. They have informed us that when it comes to selecting a solicitor that unless they are on their approved list of property lawyers then we will be subject to an an additional charge of about two hundred pounds. This is is due to the fact that they would then have to select a conveyancer to act on their behalf as well as the one we select on our behalf and we are liable for their invoice. I have asked Leeds Building Society to send me with a list so I can request estimates only from their approved conveyancers but was told that I need to check with each individual lawyer to see if they are on the panel. Is there a list online?

Ask Leeds Building Society what their criteria for panel membership is for a conveyancer.Thereafter ask the solicitor of your choice whether they fit that criteria and have they acted on mortgages for Leeds Building Society historically. If the answer to those is yes, then just clarify this with Leeds Building Society. Alternatively please use our search tool and we may be able to find you a lawyer in Acton on the approved list for Leeds Building Society.