My wife and I are buying a 3 bedroom flat in Hull East with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Hull East solicitor, but the mortgage company says she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have little option but to appoint one of the lender panel firms or keep our Hull East conveyancer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We regard this is unjust; can we not require that the lender use our Hull East conveyancer ?

No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Hull East conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

We note that you have a search directory listing firms on the RBS conveyancing panel. Do companies pay you a referral fee if I retain them for our own conveyancing in Hull East?

We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the RBS conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Hull East.

I'm buying my first flat in Hull East with a loan from Nationwide Building Society. The developers refused to move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about this deal as it would jeopardize my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

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.

I have been recommended by a few selling agents in Hull East to choose a conveyancer on your site. What’s the financial advantage for Estate Agents to promote your lawyers over alternative conveyancing organisations?

We refuse to make any referral fee for pointing buyers and sellers to this site. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.

My solicitors in Hull East have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. At the time of my purchase I took out a mortgage with the lender. Is it case that being on the bank conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a prescribed period?

It very much depends from lender to lender but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the mortgage company Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting the mortgage company directly.