The Penmaenmawr conveyancing firm that just started acting on my house acquisition in Penmaenmawr have suddenly closed. They were on acting for me because I had to have a firm on the conveyancing panel and my family Penmaenmawr lawyer was not. I wrote them a cheque for £250 in advance. What are my options?

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to assist.

When it comes to lenders such as , do Penmaenmawr face a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?

We are not aware of any lender fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

Is it the case that all Penmaenmawr solicitors on the conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the CLC.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Penmaenmawr. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their . I paid an upfront payment of £225. Shortly after, the called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I'm buying my first flat in Penmaenmawr with a loan from . The builders refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative told me not reveal to my lawyer about this side-deal as it will impact my mortgage with . 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.

My father has encouraged me to use his conveyancing solicitors in Penmaenmawr. Should I choose my own conveyancer?

Much as we are happy to recommend a Penmaenmawr conveyancing lawyer it’s preferable to choose a conveyancing practitioner is to have referrals from friends or family who have used the solicitor you're contemplating using.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Penmaenmawr.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you discharge the maintenance contribution as normal given that all rents and maintenance invoices will be allottedon completion, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially