I am acquiring residence in Peterborough. My property lawyer is not listed on the lender approved panel. Can I still retain my Peterborough conveyancing solicitor even though they are not on the bank list of approved lawyers?

Your options include

• Complete the deal with your chosen Peterborough conveyancing practitioner but your bank will need to retain a conveyancer from their conveyancing panel. The net result is additional charges together with potential frustration.
• Appoint a new lawyer to act in the purchase, making sure they are on the lender conveyancing panel.
• Appeal to your solicitor to apply to join the bank panel

We're in Peterborough, FTBs purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Kent Reliance , and our lawyer is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?

The fact that your lawyer is on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.

I have been told that property searches are a common cause of hinderance in Peterborough conveyancing transactions. Is this right?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the common causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Peterborough.

I'm buying my first flat in Peterborough with a mortgage from Chelsea Building Society. The builders refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The estate agent told me not inform my conveyancer about this side-deal as it could jeopardize my mortgage with Chelsea Building Society. 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.

Myself and my husband have just had an offer agreed on a flat and had an appointment on Wednesday with Nationwide for the mortgage. They warned us that when it comes to appointing a conveyancing practitioner that if they are not on their approved panel of solicitors then we will incur a further fee of £200. This is because they will then have to select a solicitor to act for them in addition to the one we select on our behalf and we will be on the hook for their costs. I have asked Nationwide to send me with a list so I can seek quotes only from their approved solicitors but was told that I need to check with each individual lawyer to see if they are on the panel. Is their an easier way of going about this?

You can enquire of Nationwide what their criteria for joining their panel is for a conveyancer.Then ask the conveyancer of your choice whether they fit that criteria and have they acted on loans for Nationwide historically. Where the answer to those is yes, then just double check with Nationwide. Another option is to make use of our search tool and we may be able to locate a property lawyer in Peterborough on the panel for Nationwide.