What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in London? Is this really warranted?

To satisfy the Money Laundering Regulations any London conveyancing firm will require evidence of your identity in all conveyancing transactions. This is normally satisfied by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility account showing your correct address.

Under Money Laundering Regulations, property lawyers are obliged by law to check not simply the identity of conveyancing clients but also the origin of fund that they receive in respect of any matter. Refusal to disclose this may result in your solicitor cancelling their relationship with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.

Your property lawyers are duty bound to make a disclosure to the appropriate authorities should they consider that any monies received by them may contravene the Money Laundering Regulations.

Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Yorkshire BS. London conveyancing solicitors are chosen. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Yorkshire BS?

There is no definitive answer here. Have Yorkshire BS done the survey? Have you informed Yorkshire BS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in London off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Kent Reliance. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Kent Reliance, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.

I recently had an offer accepted on a house in London. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £200. A few days later, the lawyer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the UBS 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 UBS 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 am buying my first flat in London with a loan from Barnsley Building Society. The builders refused to move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The property agent suggested that I not to tell my solicitor about the side-deal as it may put at risk my loan with Barnsley Building Society. Is this normal?.

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.

Given that I will soon spend £400,000 on a house in London I would like to have a conversation with the conveyancer about mytransaction before appointing the firm. Can this be arranged?

This is something that we encourage - we would be happy to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the solicitor who will be doing your conveyancing in London.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is unique person, not a matter reference. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are calculated and presented to you for residential conveyancing in London should be the amount on the final invoice that you end up paying.

I am 14 days into a residential purchase having been directed to conveyancers by the estate agent to carry out the conveyancing in London. I am am extremely dissatisfied with the level of service. Can you you assist me in finding new conveyancers?

A conveyancer would have to be really bad to suggest changing them. Has the mortgage offer been generated? If so you will need to advise them of the replacement lawyer and ensure the offer are re-issued. Your new conveyancer should be on the banks panel to avoid escalating charges and frustration. That should be your starting point. The find a solicitor tool should assist you in finding a bank approved conveyancer for your home move in London