I am obtaining a mortgage offer from Santander. I intend to retain the legal services of a Licensed Conveyancer in Bournville. Does the Santander Conveyancing panel exclude conveyancers regulated by the CLC?

The Santander conveyancing panel is, like many other lenders, associated to the Council or Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

I require conveyancing for a flat in a relatively new development (five years old) in Bournville. The vast majority the properties are already disposed of. Is it really necessary to order neighbourhood searches as part of conveyancing in Bournville?

If you getting a mortgage, your bank will insist on some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Bournville conveyancing searches are for you to decide upon. Your solicitor, will 'advise', perhaps in the strongest possible terms, that you should have the searches done, but he or she is duty bound in this regard. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you insist that your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or ask you to appoint a different lawyer for your conveyancing in Bournville.

Why do I have to pay up front for conveyancing in Bournville?

If you are buying a property in Bournville your solicitor will ask you to provide them with monies to cover the search fees. Generally this is asked for to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. When the deposit is payable against the sale price then this should be required immediately prior to exchange of contracts. The final balance that is due will be payable shortly before completion.

What is your number one tip for finding a conveyancing solicitor in Bournville

It would be unwise to be seduced by the lowest Bournville conveyancing fees. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.

I have a mortgage with RBS for my property in Bournville. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform RBS?

Your original mortgage agreement with RBS will provide that you need their approval in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of RBS’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact RBS directly. You need not do this via a RBS conveyancing panel firm.

It is not clear whether my bank requires a lease extension. I have called my Bournville building society branch on a couple of occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they will lend. My Bournville conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called and was told they will not lend based on their published requirements. Who do I believe?

Provided that the conveyancing practitioner is on the mortgage company approved list, they must adhere to the CML Handbook requirements for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

I'm purchasing a new build house in Bournville with the aid of help to buy. The developers 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 would jeopardize my mortgage with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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.