We are soon to complete on the purchase of a property in Barnt Green but as a result of wreckage from the recent storms I have was able negotiate compensation from the current proprietors of £2k taking the form of a deduction in the price. This was going to be addressed as part of a side agreement yet Kent Reliance are not allowing this. Should they have been notified?

Your solicitor that is on the Kent Reliance approved list is required to advise Kent Reliance of any changes to the purchase price. If you prohibit your property lawyer to disclose the reduction to Kent Reliance then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Kent Reliance and you would have to appoint a new lawyer for your conveyancing in Barnt Green.

I'm the only beneficiary of my late grandmother’s estate and I have everything in my name alone, including the house in Barnt Green. The Barnt Green property was put into my name in January. I plan to dispose of the property. I understand that there is a CML six month 'rule', which means that my property ownership may be treated the same way as if I'd bought the property in January. Do I have to wait 6 months to sell?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook instructs conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you might be affected by that. many lenders would take a practical view as this obligation is principally there to capture subsales or the quick reselling of property.

is it true that all Barnt Green solicitor firms on the Barclays conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Barclays approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of banks do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the organisation would be overseen by the CLC.

Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Barnt Green. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?

Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. 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 have been told that property searches are the primary reason for obstruction in Barnt Green house deals. Is this right?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the most frequent causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are not likely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Barnt Green.

Me and my brother have a renovated Edwardian property in Barnt Green. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Coventry Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Barnt Green and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the position with your conveyancing practitioner who completed the work.

I'm buying a new build house in Barnt Green with a loan from Bank of Scotland. The sellers would not move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not inform my solicitor about this side-deal as it will affect my loan with Bank of Scotland. 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.