Why do I have to pay up front when it comes to conveyancing in Lichfield?

If you are buying a property in Lichfield your lawyer will ask you put them with funds to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the Local Authority Search. If any deposit is payable against the sale price then this will be asked for shortly prior to contracts are exchanged. Any further balance that is due will be payable shortly before completion.

I have a decision in principle. The lender mentioned the mortgage came with free conveyancing. Does this mean I have to appoint their panel lawyer as I would much rather appoint a Lichfield based conveyancing firm?

Do check but the the likelihood is that allocate you one of their panel solicitors where you take up the "fee-free" offer. Speak to the lender and see if they offer you a cash alternative. In the past a few lenders offered a £250 cashback as a further option in which case you could put that amount towards your preferred conveyancing solicitor in Lichfield.

I happen to be the only beneficiary of my late grandmother’s will and I have everything in my name now, including the my former home in Lichfield. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in February. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship could be treated the same way as though I had purchased the house in February. Is the property unsalable for six months?

The CML handbook obliges solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you might be affected by that. How sensible a view banks take of it, depend on the bank as this provision chiefly exists to capture subsales or the quick reselling of properties.

Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with RBS. Lichfield conveyancing practitioners have been chosen. How long does it take for RBS to issue the offer to the conveyancing practitioner?

There is no definitive answer here. Have RBS done the valuation? Have you advised RBS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the RBS conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

Planning on purchasing a flat in Lichfield. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Lichfield conveyancing practitioner is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel.

Me and my brother have a semi-detached Georgian property in Lichfield. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Yorkshire Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching property. Is it worth asking Yorkshire Building Society to clarify?

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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Lichfield and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.

I'm buying my first flat in Lichfield with a loan from Nationwide Building Society. The developers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The estate agent suggested that I not reveal to my lawyer about this deal as it could put at risk 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.