I was informed recently by my estate agent that my Newton-le-Willows property lawyer is not on the bank Conveyancing panel. What can I do to check?

The first thing you need to do is to call your Newton-le-Willows lawyer directly. You lawyer should notify you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a Newton-le-Willows conveyancing practice that is on the approved list of lawyers for your lender.

The Newton-le-Willows conveyancing lawyers that just started acting on my purchase in Newton-le-Willows have without warning shut down. I only went with them because I needed a lawyer on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel and my previous Newton-le-Willows lawyer was not. I cut them a cheque for £250 in advance. What are my options?

If you have an estate agent involved then inform them straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to assist.

I am purchasing a new build house in Newton-le-Willows with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not reveal to my conveyancer about this deal as it could jeopardize my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.

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.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and found one near me in Newton-le-Willows I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Newton-le-Willows suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this.

My brother mentioned that before selecting a conveyancing firm they need approved by your mortgage company. I am novice purchaser but I have an offer in principle from Halifax and I already have a bricks and morter conveyancing lawyer in Newton-le-Willows lined up. Does Virgin Money need an approved solicitor to be instructed? Does a list of panel solicitors even exist so I can pick a conveyancing solicitor in Newton-le-Willows?

You should use a solicitor that is on the Virgin Money panel. The first thing to do is ring your chosen Newton-le-Willows conveyancing solicitor and ask if they are on the Virgin Money panel. If they are not approved you have a couple of choices open to you here:

• Complete the deal with your existing Newton-le-Willows lawyer but Virgin Money will no doubt instruct a property lawyer on their approved list. The net result is additional charges together with probable interruption.
• Choose a new solicitor to conduct the conveyancing, obviously checking they are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel.
• Convince your conveyancer to pull out all the stops to get listed on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel.