I have just been advised by my estate agent that my Surbiton property lawyer is not on the bank Solicitor panel. What can I do to be sure whether this is correct?

Your first step should be to contact your Surbiton conveyancer. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to notify you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a Surbiton conveyancing practice that is on the conveyancing panel for your bank.

We are planning to acquire a flat and require a conveyancing solicitor in Surbiton who is on the Co-operative solicitor panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a firm?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Co-operative . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Surbiton.

What does a local search reveal regarding the property I am purchasing in Surbiton?

Surbiton conveyancing often commences with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations such as Searchflow The local search plays an important role in many a Surbiton conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search should supply 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 13 topic areas.

I'm buying my first flat in Surbiton benefiting from help to buy. The sellers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The sale representative told me not disclose to my solicitor about this deal as it would jeopardize my mortgage with Alliance & Leicester . 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.

Taking into account that I am about to spend £400,000 on a two bedroom apartment in Surbiton I would like to have a conversation with the lawyer concerning thehome move before instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

This is something that we encourage - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the lawyer due to be doing your conveyancing in Surbiton.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique person, not a file number. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are provided with for your conveyancing in Surbiton should be the amount on the final invoice that you end up paying.