I plan on acquiring a leasehold flat in Dudley. My Conveyancer is not on the mortgage company approved panel. Is it possible for me to continue with my Dudley conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the lender panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?

One will need to use a property lawyer to complete the legal work required when you need a loan to buy your property. They will carry out all the appropriate due diligence on the property, make sure that you will be properly registered as the owner and ensure that all the required mortgage paperwork is dealt with. You could select a Dudley property lawyer of your choice. However, if the conveyancer selected is not a member of the bank conveyancing panel supplemental charges will be levied as separate legal representation will be required by them. Bank panel applications can be submitted, so where your solicitor has not previously applied for membership they should take the chance to apply.

We are due to complete buying a property in Dudley but as a result of wreckage from the recent storms I have managed to agree compensation from the owner in the sum of £3k in the form of a deduction in the price. I had intended this to be addressed as part of amending the contract yet UBS will not permit this. Should they have been approached?

Your conveyancing practitioner being on a UBS conveyancing panel is duty bound to advise UBS of any changes to the sale price. If you prohibit your property lawyer to report the reduction to UBS then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, UBS and you would have to appoint a new lawyer for your conveyancing in Dudley.

Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Dudley costs more?

In summary, leasehold conveyancing in Dudley and elsewhere usually requires extra hours of investigation compared to freehold transactions. This includes lease investigation, corresponding with the landlord about serving appropriate notices, securing current service charge and management information, securing the freeholder’s consents and reviewing management accounts. The obligations on both the landlord and the tenant in the lease need to be studied by the buyer’s conveyancing team and read from beginning to end – no matter how many different proprietor have owned the lease since it was first granted.

I used Stirling Law several years past for my conveyancing in Dudley. I now require my file but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Dudley of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I am buying my first flat in Dudley with the aid of help to buy. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The property agent told me not disclose to my conveyancer about this extras as it will affect my loan with the lender. 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.