Me and my fiance are planning to purchase a 1 bedroom apartment in Bury with a mortgage. We have a Bury solicitor, however the bank says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel conveyancing practices or continue with our Bury property lawyer and pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. This feels very unfair; are we not able to require that the bank use our Bury conveyancer ?

No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose 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. A further alternative is for your Bury conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

I am need of leasehold conveyancing for an apartment in a relatively new development (seven years old) in Bury. The vast majority the appartments have already been disposed of. Do I need carry out the conveyancing searches for my conveyancing in Bury?

If you are purchasing a property with the assistance of a mortgage, your bank will insist on some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Bury conveyancing searches are optional. Your lawyer, will ’encourage’, perhaps in the strongest possible terms, that you should not go ahead without searches, but he or she has a professional duty to do this. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you choose to instruct your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or it may be necessary to instruct a new lawyer for your conveyancing in Bury.

We wanted to use a property lawyer in Bury for our home move. Our broker informed us that our mortgage company Barclays Direct won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unduly restrictive?

Before the recession most mortgage companies had an appetite for risk which was higher than today. Almost all Bury conveyancing firms would have been on most lender panels. The Financial Services Authority in 2010 carried out a thematic investigation into mortgage fraud which come to the conclusion: mortgage lenders should know the conveyancing solicitors dealt with. Consequently, mortgage companies have regularly sought more information from law firms relating to their operations and the individuals who work for them as well as set certain criteria such a completing on a minimum number of conveyancing. Many Bury conveyancing firms that have been excluded from lender panels have Unblemished track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Bury is amongst the thousands of locations where the lawyers we list are members of the panel for Barclays Direct.

My conveyancer has informed me that breach of easement insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Bury?

The right level of breach of easement indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Lloyds TSB Bank and Skipton Building Society. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.

We were going to get a OIP from Nationwide this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Nationwide recommend any Bury solicitors on the Nationwide conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?

You will need to appoint Bury solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Nationwide through the process.

I have paid off my mortgage with Virgin Money. I assume I don't need a Bury conveyancing practitioner on the Virgin Money panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.

If you have finished paying off your Virgin Money mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Virgin Money mortgage from the register. Virgin Money, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Virgin Money has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Virgin Money has instructed the Land Registry to do so

I'm buying my first flat in Bury benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent advised me not inform my solicitor about this deal as it will impact my loan with Britannia. 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.