We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Roker for our house purchase. Our financial adviser has since advised us that our mortgage lenders Bank of Ireland won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?

A bank can require an approved solicitor act for it. You would be expected to meet the charges for this. Try using our search facility to get a quote from a solicitor to conduct conveyancing in Roker on the Bank of Ireland approved list of solicitors.

My husband and I have organised a further advance on our home loan from Santander as we want to conduct alterations to our property in Roker. Do we need to choose a nearby Roker solicitor on the Santander conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?

Santander would not normally require firms on their approved list of lawyers to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Santander panel.

My fiancee and I are in the process of looking at apartments in Roker and I am about to put in an offer. Is it too early to have a solicitor in place? I will be getting a home loan with Yorkshire BS.

You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the EA. Given that you are seeking a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in January 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Yorkshire BS are being pedantic. The Roker solicitor who is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Yorkshire BS are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Yorkshire BS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Yorkshire BS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Yorkshire BS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

I have a renovated Edwardian house in Roker. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Bank of Ireland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Roker and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with your conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Roker benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The sale representative told me not disclose to my lawyer about this side-deal as it could adversely affect my loan with the lender. 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.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on last month in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Roker is the location of the property. Is there any advice you can impart?

Flying freeholds in Roker are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Roker you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds thoroughly. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Roker may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.