I am expecting a offer of a home loan from Nat West. I hope to instruct a Licensed Conveyancer in West Derby. Does the Nat West Solicitor panel allow for conveyancers regulated by the CLC?

The Nat West conveyancing panel is, like many other lenders, represented by the CML or Building Society Association, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

Our son is in the process of securing a new build apartment in West Derby with a mortgage from Lloyds. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?

The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when asked. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Lloyds conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

I am expecting a OIP from Aldermore this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Aldermore recommend any West Derby solicitors on the Aldermore conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?

You will need to appoint West Derby solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Aldermore through the process.

Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in West Derby. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How does one go about formally complaining?

All banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR with full details of your complaint.

I recently had an offer agreed on a house in West Derby. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £200. Soon after, the solicitor contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the TSB 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 TSB 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 used Wolstenholmes several years ago for my conveyancing in West Derby. Now, I need the files but the law firm has closed. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in West Derby of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I am buying a leasehold apartment in West Derby. Conveyancing estimates are coming in at around £two thousand. Is that in the right ballpark?

The average fee last year for conveyancing in West Derby was just over one thousand four hundred and fifty pounds not including Stamp Duty and Land Registry charges.