We note that you have a post code search directory identifying law firms on the Santander conveyancing panel. Do companies pay you a referral fee if I appoint them for our own conveyancing in Lake District?

We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Santander conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Lake District.

This question may be naive but I am new to the process as FTB of a ground floor flat in Lake District. Do I pick up the keys to the property on the completion date from my lawyer? If so, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Lake District?

On the day of completion you will not be required to attend the conveyancers office in Lake District. Conveyancing lawyers for you will electronically transfer the purchase money to the vendor’s solicitors, and once they have received this, you should be able to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen early afternoon.

We are purchasing a terrace house in Lake District. The intention is to carry out a loft conversion at the house.Will the conveyancing process include enquiries to see if these works were previously refused?

Your conveyancer should check the deeds as conveyancing in Lake District will sometimes reveal restrictions in the title documents which prevent categories of changes or need the permission of another owner. Some extensions need local authority planning consent and approval in compliance with building regulations. Many areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or affect extensions. It would be prudent to check these things with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.

We had chosen conveyancers based in Lake District on the Coventry BS solicitor panel. They have just billed me a supplemental fee for dealing with the Coventry BS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Coventry BS?

Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your conveyancing practitioner is entitled to levy a fee for this. The fee is not dictated by Coventry BS but by your Lake District solicitor. Some firms on the Coventry BS panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee but some practices include it on their overall fee.

My friend suggested that if I am purchasing in Lake District I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your Lake District conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Lake District around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Lake District Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Lake District Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Lake District.

I'm buying a new build house in Lake District with a loan from Bank of Scotland. The builders would not move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The sale representative advised me not inform my lawyer about this deal as it would impact my loan with Bank of Scotland. 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.

My husband and I are FTB’s - had an offer accepted, but the selling agent has warned us that the seller will only go ahead if we appoint the agent's recommended solicitors as they are insisting on a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a family conveyancer who is accustomed to conveyancing in Lake District

We suspect that the owner is not behind this request. If they desire ‘a quick sale', turning down a motivated buyer is likely to cause more damage than good. Try to communicate with the vendors directly and make sure they understand (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you will continue to use your preferred Lake District conveyancing firm - rather thanthe ones that will earn their negotiator at the agency a kickback or achieve conveyancing targets demanded by head office.