I had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Stafford for our home move. Our broker has since advised us that our mortgage lenders Nationwide Building Society won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unduly restrictive?

Before the recession most banks had an appetite for risk which was higher than today. Almost all Stafford conveyancing firms would have been on most lender panels. The financial services regulator in 2010 conducted a thematic investigation into mortgage fraud which come to the conclusion: mortgage lenders should know the conveyancing solicitors dealt with. Consequently, lenders are increasingly seeing more information from law firms concerning their operations and the individuals who work for them and set certain criteria such a completing on a minimum volume of conveyancing. Many Stafford conveyancing firms that have been excluded from lender panels have a 100% healthy track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Stafford is amongst the thousands of areas where the conveyancers showing on our search results are on the panel for Nationwide Building Society.

This question may be naive but I am unexperienced as a 1st time buyer of a ground floor flat in Stafford. Do I pick up the keys to the premises on completion from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will instruct a local conveyancing solicitor in Stafford?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will transfer the completion advance to the owner’s lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be able to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs early afternoon.

When it comes to mortgage companies such as UBS, do Stafford conveyancing practitioners face a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are unaware of any lender fees to register on their panel, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Stafford. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £175. A couple of days later, the conveyancer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Nottingham 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 Nottingham 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 purchased a semi-detached Georgian house in Stafford. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Barclays . I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the exact same property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Stafford and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also check the position with your conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.

I'm purchasing a new build house in Stafford with a mortgage from Yorkshire Building Society. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent advised me not reveal to my solicitor about the deal as it will affect my mortgage with Yorkshire 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.

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Stafford ground floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Stafford conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Stafford do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

Stafford Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

What is the length of the lease? How much is the service charge and ground rent on the property? It is important to be aware whether redecorating or some other significant cost is due shortly to be shared between the leaseholders and may well dramatically increase the the service charges or necessitate a specific payment.