My husband and I are getting closer to an exchange on a property in Great Barford and my mum and dad have sent the 10% deposit to my conveyancer. I am now informed that as the deposit has been received from someone other than me my property lawyer needs to make a notification to my bank. Apparently, in also acting for the bank he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I informed the bank regarding my parents' contribution when I applied for the mortgage, so is it really appropriate for this now to be an issue?

Your conveyancer is duty bound to check with lender to make sure that they know that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. Your solicitor can only notify this to your bank if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.

A relative advised me that in purchasing a property in Great Barford there may be a number of restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external changes to the property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in Great Barford which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Great Barford should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

We are getting the release of further funds on our mortgage from Bank of Ireland as we wish to conduct a loft conversion to our home in Great Barford. Are we obliged to choose a high street Great Barford solicitor on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

Bank of Ireland do not ordinarily appoint a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Bank of Ireland list.

I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Great Barford. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £200. A couple of days later, the conveyancer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Coventry BS 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 Coventry BS 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.

Will my lawyer be raising questions regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Great Barford.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers carrying out conveyancing in Great Barford. There are those who purchase a property in Great Barford, completely aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the purchaser.

Conveyancers are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that can be initiated by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can give them a better appreciation of the risks in Great Barford. The standard property information forms supplied to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual inquiry of the seller to discover if the property has ever been flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not notified by the seller, then a buyer could commence a claim for damages stemming from an misleading answer. A purchaser’s lawyers should also order an environmental report. This should disclose if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional inquiries should be conducted.

What tools are available to identify a Great Barford solicitor on the Aldermore conveyancing panel? I have wheels and am happy to travel upto 20miles to meet the solicitor.

You can use the tool on this page. Please select a bank and your location and you will see a number of Great Barford conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some Great Barford conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can contact them to see if they are on the Aldermore panel

I am considering choosing a web based lawyer as opposed to a Great Barford conveyancing practice. Any advice?

Advantages do exist in being able to attend a local Great Barford conveyancing solicitor for instance

• signing papers same day
• sometimes being able to speak to someone face-to-face can make a significant difference, particularly for more complex conveyancing
• the ability to raise concerns if matters are not going as expected

When checking fees, look carefully for hidden extras. The majority decent Great Barford high street solicitors give an all-inclusive price. Many online agents seem to offer discounted prices, but have hidden 'extras' in the fine print.