I am not in a position to travel far from Corbridge. Can you please spell out why all Corbridge property lawyers are not on all bank panels?

Even though it may seem unfair for mortgage companies to limit who can act for them, from the public’s or lawyer’s perspective, the other side of the coin is that lending institutions are becoming ever more anxious and regard it vital to protect them against illegal activities. As a consequence of this concern lenders are limiting their conveyancing panel to a manageable size.

I used Arc property Solicitors a few years past for my conveyancing in Corbridge. Now, I need my documents however the law firm has closed. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Corbridge of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I am buying a new build house in Corbridge with a mortgage from Skipton Building Society. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The sale representative told me not to tell my conveyancer about the side-deal as it will put at risk my mortgage with Skipton Building Society. Should I keep quiet?.

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.

Is it best to choose a Corbridge conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am buying? I have an old university friend who can execute the legal work however her office is 200kilometers drive away.

The benefit of a local Corbridge conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to execute paperwork, deliver your identification documents and pester them if necessary. Having local Corbridge know how is a plus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who used your friend and on the whole were content that must outweigh using an unknown Corbridge conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being Corbridge based.

We have appointed a Corbridge conveyancing solicitor for our home move (FTB’s) and have noticed in the terms and conditions that they are not regulated by the FCA. Am I right to be concerned or is that standard with solicitor?

We can't see why they should be. Most lawyer don't lend money. You should check that they are governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, who dictate specific laws covering monies deposited by them.