Recently been in touch with my conveyancing lawyer in Burslem who conducted the legals two years ago asking for a conveyancing estimate based on the same type of house sale & purchase (a leasehold residence and a freehold property) of almost identical values with a home loan from Birmingham Midshires. It looks as though am now being quoted double. Am I right to be tempted to shop around for an alternative property lawyer?

The estimate fees are a tad high. Where you are prepared to invest time scrutinising quotes you may be able to get the conveyancing a bit cheaper by say a hundred pounds. On the other hand, assuming were pleased with the assistance the firm offered you couldlive to rue choosing an an untested solicitor. Remember to enquire the solicitor can represent Birmingham Midshires. Do make use of our search tool to select a Burslem conveyancing firm on the Birmingham Midshires conveyancing panel, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Burslem.

We note that you have a search directory listing law firms on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Do companies pay you a referral fee if I instruct them for our conveyancing in Burslem?

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

I just acquired a flat at auction in Burslem. Conveyancing is required. What are my next steps?

Now that you have to in every practical sense signed on the dotted line you will need to choose a conveyancing lawyer as a matter of urgency as you are faced with a fast approaching a drop dead date to complete the transaction. Every auction property will ordinarily have a bespoke legal set of papers. This will include most,if not all of the documents that your conveyancer will need. In the case of leasehold premises the auction pack may contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation pertinent to a leasehold property. You need to give this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor at the earliest opportunity. Do make sure that that you have the requisite funding organised to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

Can you point me to a directory of Principality panel conveyancers in Burslem on the Building Society Association’s Website?

Unfortunately not yet. There is no such facility on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. Very few lending institutions make their panel listings available on the web. If you are seeking to appoint a Burslem property lawyer on the Principality please make the most of our facility.

I currently have a mortgage with Coventry BS for my property in Burslem. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Coventry BS?

Your original mortgage agreement with Coventry BS will provide that you need their approval prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Coventry BS’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Coventry BS will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Coventry BS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Coventry BS conveyancing panel firm.

A friend suggested that if I am purchasing in Burslem I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your Burslem conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Burslem around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Burslem.

I'm buying a new build house in Burslem with a mortgage from Halifax. The sellers refused to move on the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The house builders rep told me not reveal to my conveyancer about the side-deal as it may put at risk my mortgage with Halifax. 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.