Me and my wife are acquiring a ground floor flat in Kingswinford. My Solicitor has never been on on the lender solicitor list. Am I still permitted to appoint my Kingswinford conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the mortgage company panel?

You will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner to deal with the formalities if you require a mortgage to buy your home. They will carry out all the relevant due diligence on the property, ensuring that you’re properly registered as the owner and ensure that all the required mortgage paperwork is in order. One could instruct a Kingswinford solicitor of your choosing. However, where the conveyancing practitioner appointed is not a member of the mortgage company approved list further costs will be levied as separate legal representation will be required by them. Bank panel applications can be submitted, so if your conveyancer has not previously applied for membership they should do so.

I am considering applying for a Barclays mortgage for purchase of a newly converted (under development) in Kingswinford with 70% loan to value. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for Barclays ?

In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the Barclays conveyancing panel, but Barclays would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my home can not be found. The solicitors who conducted the conveyancing in Kingswinford 10 years ago no longer exist. What are my options?

As long as the title is registered the information relating to your proprietorship will be retained by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is possible to conduct a search at the Land Registry, find your house and obtain current copies of the Registered Entries for less than a fiver. If the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will also normally retain a file duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for a small fee.

I am purchasing my first flat in Kingswinford benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent advised me not inform my lawyer about the side-deal as it would impact my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.

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.

As co-executor for the estate of my uncle I am selling a property in Neath but live in Kingswinford. My lawyer (based 250 miles from meneeds me to sign a statutory declaration prior to completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Kingswinford who can attest and place their company stamp on the document?

Technically speaking you are unlikely to be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Ordinarily any notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are based in Kingswinford