The sellers of the house we are hoping to buy have instructed a conveyancing practitioner in Hyde Park who has suggested a preliminary contract with a non-refundable deposit 10k. Are such agreements generally advanced for Hyde Park conveyancing transactions?

Lock out contracts are contracts binding a home vendor and purchaser granting the buyer a ‘clear field’ to the sale of the premises for a set period of time. For all intents and purposes, an exclusivity is a document stating that you should receive a contract at a later date being the main conveyancing contract. It is generally utilised for buyer assurance though in many situations, the vendor may stand to benefit from such agreements as well. There are numerous pros and cons to using them but you should to check with your conveyancer but beware that it may end up incurring extra in conveyancing fees. For this these contracts are rare in relation to conveyancing in Hyde Park.

Me and my partner are buying a apartment in Hyde Park. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we will need to deposit our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

We have agreed to purchase a house in Hyde Park. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. HSBC have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?

As you are obtaining a mortgage with HSBC your lawyer must check the formal instructions contained in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for HSBC. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to HSBC where a lease does not satisfy these conditions. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not limited to Hyde Park.

We expect to receive a AIP from Yorkshire BS this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Yorkshire BS recommend any Hyde Park solicitors on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?

You will need to appoint Hyde Park solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Yorkshire BS through the process.

A colleague recommended that if I am purchasing in Hyde Park I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your Hyde Park conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Hyde Park around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Hyde Park Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Hyde Park Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Hyde Park.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Hyde Park. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Hyde Park

Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company?

I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing practitioner in Hyde Park for my home move. Is there any facility to check a firm’s record with the legal regulator?

Anyone may review documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations stemming from inquisitions commenced on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find information Pre 2008, or to check a firm's record, phone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. International callers, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes recorded call for training purposes.