Can you clarify what the consequences are if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the Co-operative Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Bulkington?

The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.

Me and my brother own a semi-detached Georgian house in Bulkington. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and The Royal Bank of Scotland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You should 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Bulkington and other locations in 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 mortgage companies. You can also check the position with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the purchase.

I am purchasing my first flat in Bulkington with a mortgage from Halifax. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The estate agent suggested that I not to tell my solicitor about the deal as it may affect my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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 have been pointed in your direction by a couple of local property agents in Bulkington to select a conveyancer on your site. Is there a financial inducement for Estate Agents to offer your site ahead of another?

We don’t make any referral fee for pointing buyers and sellers to this site. We found it would be just too difficult a fee as members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.

My husband and I are 14 days into a freehold purchase having been recommend to solicitors by the estate agent to do our conveyancing in Bulkington. I am not happy. Can you you assist me in finding new lawyers?

A solicitor would have to be really poor in order to consider diss instructing them. Has the mortgage been sent? If so you need to make them aware of the new solicitor and get the loan are re-sent. The solicitor ideally needs to be on the banks approved list to avoid added expenses and delays. So that should be your first question of the new lawyers. The search tool should help you find a lender approved conveyancer for your conveyancing in Bulkington