We are purchasing a house and require a conveyancing solicitor in Bollington who is on the UBS solicitor panel. Can you recommend a local firm?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for UBS . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Bollington.

My fiance and I wish to acquire a purpose built apartment in Bollington with a loan from Nationwide Building Society.We like our Bollington conveyancing lawyer but Nationwide Building Society advised that he's not listed on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct a Nationwide Building Society panel lawyer or retain our preferred solicitor and pay for a Nationwide Building Society panel lawyer to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that Nationwide Building Society use our lawyer?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you contains various provisions, one of which will be that solicitors will be on the Nationwide Building Society approved list. in the past, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Nationwide Building Society

Is it correct that all Bollington CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Nottingham conveyancing panel?

Some major lenders now make use of CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.

We have agreed to purchase a house in Bollington. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Nottingham have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?

As your lender is Nottingham your lawyer must check the formal instructions outlined in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Nottingham. The CML Handbook stipulates minimum specifications for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Nottingham where a lease fails to satisfy these provisions. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not restricted to Bollington.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Bollington. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an advanced payment of £175. A few days later, the solicitor contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Virgin Money panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I'm buying my first flat in Bollington benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not disclose to my conveyancer about the deal as it could put at risk 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.

I decided to have a survey carried out on a house in Bollington in advance of instructing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some mortgage companies will refuse to give a mortgage on a flying freehold house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Bollington. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.