I plan on acquiring a maisonette in Bewdley. My lawyer has never been on on the lender conveyancing panel. Is it possible for me to continue with my Bewdley conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the lender approved list?

You have a number of alternatives available to you here

• Proceed with your preferred Bewdley conveyancing practitioner but your lender will undoubtedly appoint a conveyancing practitioner on their approved panel. This will result in additional cost together with potential frustration.
• Appoint a fresh solicitor to conduct the conveyancing, making sure they are on the lender conveyancing panel.
• Convince your conveyancing practitioner to pull out all the stops to get listed on the mortgage company conveyancing panel

Is it possible for conveyancing in Bewdley to be concluded in 10 days?

Where you are under pressure to sign contracts it is advisable to make sure that your solicitor is familiar with the area as they will make use of local contacts and insight. It is even conceivable that they may have handled otherhomes in the same street. You would be best advised to use a Bewdley conveyancing lawyer. In addition, make sure that the lawyer is on the member panel. It is claimed that just under twenty per cent of Bewdley conveyancing transactions are suspended or jeopardised after finding out that a purchaser’s solicitor was not on their mortgage lender’s list of approved solicitors. This can often result in the transaction being frustrated by an average of three weeks. It is understood that this issue affects approximately one hundred thousand home sales every year. Almost all Bewdley conveyancing firms can not act for certain mortgage companies so do check at the outset.

is it true that all Bewdley solicitor firms on the Co-operative conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Co-operative conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many banks do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such practice would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Bewdley off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Santander. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Santander, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Santander conveyancing panel.

I have finally had an offer on an apartment in Bewdley agreed to, but there is a chain. The owners have put an offer on a property, but it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other apartments in the pipeline. I have selected a high street conveyancing solicitor in Bewdley. What should be my next step? When do I get the mortgage application with Lloyds going?

It is normal to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs prematurely (mortgage application is approx £1k, then valuation, Bewdley conveyancing search fees, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your solicitor is on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. Regarding the subsequent steps this very much depends on the uniqueness of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a rising market the majority of purchasers would apply for the mortgage with Lloyds and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their lawyer to move forward with searches.

Should commercial conveyancing searches reveal planned roadworks that may affect a commercial estate in Bewdley?

Many commercial conveyancing solicitors in Bewdley will conduct a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers spend in looking into accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Bewdley. The search result provides definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Bewdley.

For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Bewdley it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. The absence of identifying developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately can cause delays to Bewdley commercial conveyancing transactions as well as present a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not ordered for domestic conveyancing in Bewdley.

I am buying a new build house in Bewdley with a loan from Santander. The sellers refused to budge the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent told me not to tell my lawyer about the deal as it would affect my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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.