I am hoping to receive a mortgage with Nat West. I hope to employ the services of a Licensed Conveyancer in Newhaven. Does the Nat West Solicitor panel exclude conveyancers regulated by the CLC?

The Nat West approved solicitor list is, like many other lenders, associated to the Council or Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the CLC.

What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Newhaven? What am I being asked for?

You are right in the requirement set out by your solicitor has nothing to do with conveyancing in Newhaven. However these days you can not proceed with any conveyancing process in the absence handing over proof of your identity. Ordinarily this takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence and a council tax bill. Remember if you are providing your driving licence as evidence of ID it must be both the paper element and photo card part, one is not sufficient without the other.

Proof of the source of monies is required in accordance with the Money Laundering Regulations. Don’t be offended when when this is requested of you as your lawyer will need to have this information on record. Your Newhaven conveyancing lawyer will need to see evidence of proof of funds prior to accepting any funds from you into their client account and they should also ask further questions regarding the source of monies.

When it comes to mortgage companies such as Lloyds, do Newhaven solicitors have to pay a yearly amount to be on the list of approved solicitors?

We are unaware of any lender fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

Does a directory service exist listing UBS panel solicitors in Newhaven on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?

Unfortunately not yet. There is no such directory service on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of banks make their panel listings visible over the internet. Where you are looking for a Newhaven solicitor on the UBS please use our tool.

I'm at the point of looking at flats in Newhaven and I am about to put in an offer. Is it too early to have a solicitor in place? I am planning to take a home loan with Skipton.

It would be advisable to commence your search sooner rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the selling agent. As you are taking out a mortgage with Skipton, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Skipton conveyancing panel.

I'm buying my first flat in Newhaven with a mortgage from Nottingham Building Society. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent advised me not disclose to my lawyer about this deal as it will jeopardize my loan with the bank. 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.

I have been recommended by a few selling agents in Newhaven to select a conveyancer using your seach tool. What’s the financial incentive for Estate Agents to offer your lawyers ahead of alternative conveyancing organisations?

We don’t offer any financial incentive for directing people to this site. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission because members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.