My financial adviser requires my Plymstock solicitor’s panel reference for the Lloyds conveyancing panel. Can you suggest how I obtain this. I have tried my local Plymstock branch but they have not got back to me yet.

The sensible thing to do is ask for this information from your Plymstock solicitor . They should have a central record lender panel numbers.

I had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Plymstock for our house purchase. Our financial adviser has since advised us that our bank Bank of Ireland won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?

A bank may direct that an approved solicitor act for it. You would be expected to meet the charges for this. Do use our search facility to choose a solicitor to carry conveyancing in Plymstock on the Bank of Ireland approved list of solicitors.

I just acquired a property at auction in Plymstock. Conveyancing is necessary. What is next?

Given that you have now exchanged you will need to find a conveyancing practitioner quickly as you will have a fast approaching a drop dead date to complete the deal. All auction property should have a bespoke legal set of papers. This will include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. If you have purchased leasehold premises the auction pack may contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing paperwork pertinent to leasehold premises. You must give this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor ASAP. Do make sure that you have funds organised to complete on the date specified in the contract.

Can you point me to a directory of Barclays panel conveyancers in Plymstock on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?

No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. A small selection of lending institutions make their panel listings open the public online. If you are looking for a Plymstock solicitor on the Barclays please make the most of our facility.

We had chosen solicitors locally in Plymstock on the HSBC solicitor panel. They have just billed me a separate charge for the legal aspects of the HSBC mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by HSBC?

Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your conveyancer can charge a fee for this. This charge is not set by HSBC but by your Plymstock property lawyer. Numerous firms on the HSBC panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but some firms incorporate it on their overall fee.

What does a local search tell me about the house we're purchasing in Plymstock?

Plymstock conveyancing often commences with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search company such as Xpress Legal The local search is essential in every Plymstock conveyancing purchase; that is if you don’t want any unpleasant surprises after you move into your property. The search should provide data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic sections.

I'm buying my first flat in Plymstock with a mortgage from Chelsea Building Society. The sellers refused to budge the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The estate agent advised me not inform my lawyer about the extras as it would impact my loan with Chelsea Building Society. Should I keep quiet?.

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.