I am nearing an exchange on a property in Thornaby on Tees and my parents have sent the 10% deposit to my conveyancer. I am now told that as the deposit has been received from someone other than me my solicitor needs to disclose this to my lender. Apparently, in also acting for the mortgage company he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I disclosed to the bank concerning my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really appropriate for this now to delay the deal?

The conveyancing practitioner is duty bound to clarify with mortgage company to make sure that they know that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. Your solicitor can only reveal this to your lender if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.

My wife and I are purchasing a house in Thornaby on Tees. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a conveyancer? On completion day we have to put funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our monies?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

We are getting the release of further funds on our home loan from Santander as we want to conduct renovations to our home in Thornaby on Tees. Are we obliged to choose a nearby Thornaby on Tees solicitor on the Santander conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?

Santander would not normally instruct firms on their conveyancing panel to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Santander conveyancing panel.

After shopping around on the internet I have found a Thornaby on Tees conveyancer having made sure that they are on the RBS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

RBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually RBS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Thornaby on Tees surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

I am purchasing my first flat in Thornaby on Tees with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The property agent advised me not reveal to my solicitor about the deal as it could jeopardize my mortgage with Barclays . Is this normal?.

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.

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Thornaby on Tees I like with open areas and transport links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Thornaby on Tees for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.

Should I be suspicious that third parties that I am dealing with are suggesting a national conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Thornaby on Tees conveyancing firm?

As with lots of service providers, often recommendations from family and friends can be worth their weight in gold. Nevertheless there are lots of parties with a vested interest in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies might all recommend conveyancers to appoint. Sometimes the lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there may be a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You are free to select your own lawyer. Don't forget that most banks operate an approved list of solicitors you must use for the mortgage related work in your transaction.