Forgive me if this question is silly but I am new to the home buying as a first time purchaser of a ground floor flat in Ilminster. Do I receive the keys to the house on the completion date from my solicitor? If so, I will use a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Ilminster?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will transfer the purchase money to the seller's solicitors, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be invited to receive the keys from the property Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs early afternoon.

We had chosen conveyancers with offices in Ilminster on the UBS solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me a separate sum for dealing with the UBS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by UBS?

Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your property lawyer can levy a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by UBS but by your Ilminster conveyancer. Numerous firms on the UBS panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but many firms incorporate it on their overall fee.

I had an offer accepted on an apartment in Ilminster on 23/5/2025, valuation was booked five days later, all came back fine. Solicitor retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Virgin Money and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Virgin Money to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I moved into my house on 13 October and the transaction details is yet to be on the land registry website. Need I be worried? My conveyancing solicitor in Ilminster expressed confidence that it should be dealt with inside ten days. Are properties in Ilminster uniquely lengthy to register?

As far as conveyancing in Ilminster registration is no faster or slower than anywhere else in the country. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timeframes can differ subject to the party submitting the application, whether there are errors and whether the Land registry must send notices to any interested persons or bodies. As of today roughly three quarters of such applications are completed within two weeks but occasionally there can be extensive delays. Historically registration occurs once the buyer has moved in to the premises therefore an expedited registration is not always an essential issue but where there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your lawyers must contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.

I am purchasing a new build house in Ilminster with a mortgage from Clydesdale. The sellers would not budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The estate agent advised me not inform my conveyancer about the deal as it will impact my loan with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

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.

Do I need to be wary by brokers that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a national conveyancing firm as opposed to a High Street Ilminster conveyancing company?

As is the case with lots of service providers, often referrals from family and friends can be worth their weight in gold. But there are numerous players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies may put forward solicitors to select. On occasion the solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but occasionally there exists a commercial relationship behind the endorsement. You have the discretion to choose your preferred lawyer. You need to be aware that many lenders specify a panel list of lawyers you must use for the lender aspect of your home move.

We're new on the property ladder - had an offer accepted, yet the selling agent advised that the seller will only proceed if we instruct their chosen lawyers as they want an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a family solicitor accustomed to conveyancing in Ilminster

We suspect that the seller is unaware of this request. Should the owner require ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a motivated buyer is likely to cause more damage than good. Bypass the agents and go straight to the sellers and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to go, with mortgage lined up © you have nothing to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you are going to use your preferred Ilminster conveyancing firm - as opposed tothe ones that will provide their estate agent a referral fee or meet his conveyancing figures set by corporate headquarters.