I have been recommended a conveyancing solicitor in Birmingham. I I would like to check whether they are accepted on the Accord Mortgages Ltd approved list of lawyers. Could you assist?

You should phone your conveyancer and ask them if they are on the lender panel. Alternatively you can get in touch with Accord Mortgages Ltd who may be able to assist.

Have just purchased a repossessed house at auction in Birmingham. Conveyancing is needed. What happens now?

Now that you are legally committed yourself to purchase you will need to appoint a conveyancing lawyer soon as you are facing a pending a drop dead date to complete the deal. An auction property should have an associated legal set of papers. This will include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. Where you are dealing with leasehold property the conveyancing papers may provide a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing paperwork relating to leasehold premises. You must give this to the conveyancer working for you ASAP. Do make sure that you have funds in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

My wife and I buying a victorian detached house in Birmingham. The intention is to an extension at the rear at the property.Will legal investigations on the property include investigations to ascertain if these alterations are prohibited?

Your conveyancer should check the deeds as conveyancing in Birmingham can on occasion reveal restrictions in the title documents which restrict certain works or require the permission of another owner. Some works need local authority planning permissions and approval in compliance with building regulations. Many locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or affect extensions. You should check these things with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.

After shopping around on the internet I have found a Birmingham lawyer having checked that they are on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Lloyds will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Lloyds 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. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Birmingham postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Lloyds, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Birmingham.

I have been told that property searches are a common reason for delay in Birmingham house deals. Is that correct?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the most frequent causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Birmingham.

I am purchasing a new build house in Birmingham with a mortgage from Coventry Building Society. The developers would not reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not reveal to my conveyancer about the deal as it would impact my mortgage with Coventry Building Society. 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.

I am purchasing a house and need a conveyancing solicitor in Birmingham who is on the lender conveyancing panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a firm?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for the mortgage company who carry out conveyancing in Birmingham. We dont recommend any particular conveyancing practice.