It has come to my attention via my lender that my Old Swan property lawyer is not on the bank Solicitor panel. How can I check?

You need to contact your Old Swan conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to notify you of the situation. Where they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your bank.

I am buying a end of terrace house in Old Swan. The intention is to carry out an extension to the side at the house.Will the conveyancing process involve checks to see if these works were previously refused?

Your solicitor will review the deeds as conveyancing in Old Swan will occasionally reveal restrictions in the title documents which restrict certain changes or require the permission of another owner. Certain additions require local authority planning permissions and approval under the building regulations. Some locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or affect extensions. It would be wise to check these things with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.

I am the sole beneficiary of my late mum's estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Old Swan. The Old Swan property was put into my name in March. I now wish to sell up. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship will be treated the same way as if I'd bought the property in March. Will no one buy the property for half a year?

The CML handbook mandates conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you might be affected by that. Most lenders would take a pragmatic view as this clause is chiefly there to capture subsales or the flipping of property.

When it comes to mortgage companies such as UBS, do Old Swan solicitors have to pay a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?

We are not aware of any bank fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

I have justbecome aware that Action Conveyancing have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Old Swan for a purchase of a freehold house 10 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?

The easiest way to see if the property is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Old Swan conveyancing specialists.

I'm purchasing a new build house in Old Swan with a loan from Skipton Building Society. The developers would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not reveal to my conveyancer about this side-deal as it could jeopardize my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

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.

I have been recommended by a few estate agents in Old Swan to locate a solicitor on your site. What’s the financial upside for Estate Agents to promote your lawyers rather than a competitor’s?

We refuse to make any financial incentive for directing people our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because home movers will think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.