I am in the process of selling my ground floor flat in Atherton and the estate agent has just telephoned to say that the purchasers are appointing a new law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a big named lender only deal with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Atherton ?

Banks have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.

Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.

Finally the sale completed on my house in Atherton last April yet the purchaser is SMS messaging me to say their lawyer is waiting to hear from mine. What should have happened now that I have sold?

Following your disposal your lawyer is duty bound to forward the transfer documentation and all of the paperwork to the purchaser's solicitors. Where relevant, your solicitor must also send confirmation that the home loan has been redeemed to the purchasers conveyancers. There are no post completion steps specific conveyancing in Atherton.

Just bought a semi-detached house in Atherton , how long should it take for the Land Registry to deal with the formalities evidencing my ownership? My Atherton conveyancing solicitor has been very slow, so I want to be certain the registration is addressed.

As far as conveyancing in Atherton is concerned, registration is no faster or slower than the rest of the country. Rather than based on location, timescales can adjust subject to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry have to notify any third parties. At present in the region of 80% of such applications are fully dealt with in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be extensive delays. Historically registration takes place after the purchaser has moved in to the property thus post completion formalities is not always primary concern yet where there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your conveyancer should speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.

I am buying my first flat in Atherton with a mortgage from Chelsea Building Society. The builders would not reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The estate agent suggested that I not to tell my solicitor about the deal as it will put at risk my loan with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

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.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in last month in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Atherton is where the house is located. Is there any advice you can impart?

Flying freeholds in Atherton are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Atherton you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Atherton may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.