My partner and I are intent on buying a maisonette in Par. My Conveyancer is not on the bank approved panel. Am I still permitted to retain my Par conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the bank panel?

Various options include

• Complete the deal with your existing Par but your mortgage company will undoubtedly instruct a from their approved panel. The net result is additional charges together with likely delay.
• Choose a fresh to conduct the conveyancing, ensuring that they are on the bank conveyancing panel.
• Convince your property lawyer to do everything possible to get accepted on the bank’s conveyancing panel

We wanted to use a property lawyer in Par for our home move. Our financial adviser has since advised us that our mortgage lenders won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unduly restrictive?

Banks in the main restrict either the type or the amount of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a law practice must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the profile of firm, a few lenders have limited the amount of firms they allow to represent them. You should note that have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a primary driver in the reduction of solicitor panels since 2008 even though there remains mixed opinions concerning the extent of solicitor engagement in some of that fraud. Data from the Land Registry indicate that thousands of law firms, including some in or near Par only execute very few conveyances a year.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Par?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Par. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I'm purchasing my first flat in Par with the aid of help to buy. The builders refused to move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The property agent told me not to tell my solicitor about this extras as it will put at risk my mortgage with . Is this normal?.

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.

Me and my partner are planning to purchase a 2 room ground floor flatin Par with a residential mortgage from a bank. We like our conveyancer in Par however our lender advise he's not approved on their "panel". Apparently we need to choose one of the our mortgage company panel firms or keep our Par solicitor and incur the extra costs for one of their panel ones to represent our bank. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The bank home loan issued is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that solicitors will on the lender's conveyancing panel. Until recently, most mortgage companies had open panels, including most conveyancing solicitors in Par : a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.