Unfortunately I am unable to travel far from Eastleigh. Can you please spell out why all Eastleigh property lawyers aren't included on all lender panels?

Mortgage companies point to the fact that solicitor-led fraud is considered to be responsible for millions of pounds of fraud annually.The elimination of law firms off of lender panels started with the rise in mortgage fraud, which prompted a thematic review by the FSA in 2011. Its conclusions included recommendations for lending institutions to review their conveyancing panels, which kicked off a major policy change in the sector. This resulted in mortgage companies removing a number of firms off their official list of approved conveyancers .

The Eastleigh conveyancing firm handling our Eastleigh conveyancing has uncovered an inconsistency between the assumptions in the home valuation survey and what is revealed within the legal papers for the property. My lawyer says that he needs to check that the bank is happy with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my lawyer’s approach right?

Your property lawyer must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.

My bid for a property was accepted at auction in Eastleigh. Conveyancing is needed. What happens now?

Having to in every practical sense signed on the dotted line you will need to hire the services of a conveyancing lawyer soon as you are facing a fast approaching deadline in which to complete the purchase. An auction property will have an associated auction pack. This should include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. In the case of leasehold premises the conveyancing papers should contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork specific to leasehold premises. You should hand this to the lawyer working for you at the earliest opportunity. Do make sure that that you have the requisite funding organised to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

I am expecting a AIP from Co-operative this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Co-operative recommend any Eastleigh solicitors on the Co-operative conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?

You will need to appoint Eastleigh solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Co-operative through the process.

Our offer on a house in Eastleigh has been accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have placed an offer on somewhere, however it’s not yet tied up, and are looking at other flats in the pipeline. I have instructed a high street conveyancing solicitor in Eastleigh. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage application with Aldermore started?

It is usual to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses too early (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then valuation, Eastleigh conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you should check that your property lawyer is on the Aldermore approved list. Concerning the subsequent stages this very much dictated by the circumstances of your case, attraction to this property and on the state of the market. In a rising market the majority of buyers would apply for a home loan with Aldermore and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their conveyancing practitioner to move forward with the conveyancing in Eastleigh.

My friend suggested that where I am purchasing in Eastleigh I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is usually included in the estimate for your Eastleigh conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Eastleigh around the property and the people living there. It incorporates 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, Eastleigh Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Eastleigh.

I am purchasing a new build house in Eastleigh with the aid of help to buy. The builders would not reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The sale representative told me not disclose to my lawyer about this deal as it could adversely affect my mortgage with Bank of Ireland. 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.