It has come to my attention via my lender that my West Moors property lawyer is not on the lender Solicitor panel. How can I be certain if this is indeed the case?

You need to contact your West Moors lawyer directly. You lawyer should advise you what has happened. Where they are not on the panel they may be able to suggest a West Moors conveyancing practice that is on the conveyancing panel for your bank.

My house in West Moors is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Does the solicitor need to be required to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Lloyds conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently at the moment.

When it comes to lenders such as TSB, do West Moors conveyancers face an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to be on their panel, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

Can I be sure that the West Moors conveyancing solicitor on the Kent Reliance panel is any good?

When it comes to conveyancing in West Moors seeking recommendations is a good starting point. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always recommend that you speak with the solicitor handling your transaction.

I have finally had an offer on an apartment in West Moors agreed to, but there is a chain. The owners have offered on somewhere, but it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other flats booked. I have instructed a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in West Moors. What do I do now? At what stage do I apply for the mortgage with Bank of Ireland?

It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey, West Moors conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you must check that your property lawyer is on the Bank of Ireland approved list. Concerning the next steps this very much depends on the uniqueness of your transaction, desire for the property and on the state of the market. In a rising market some home buyers will apply for the mortgage with Bank of Ireland and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their property lawyer to proceed with the conveyancing in West Moors.

I'm buying a new build house in West Moors with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The estate agent advised me not disclose to my solicitor about this deal as it would affect my loan with Barclays Direct. 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.

We have instructed a West Moors conveyancing solicitor for our house purchase (novice purchasers) and have picked up in the engagement letter that they are not governed by the FCA. Should I be concerned or is that usually the case with conveyancer?

We can't see why they should be. Most conveyancing practitioner don't lend money. They should be governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, who set specific stipulations regulating funds sitting on client account.