My financial adviser has asked me for my Sleaford solicitor’s panel member for the Lloyds conveyancing panel. What is the best way to find this out. I have e-mailed my local Sleaford branch but they have not responded to me.

The sensible thing to do is ask for this information from your Sleaford property lawyer . They maintain a central record lender panel numbers.

Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with RBS. Sleaford conveyancing lawyers are instructed. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from RBS?

There is no definitive answer here. Have RBS completed the survey? Have you informed RBS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the RBS conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.

I had an offer accepted on an apartment in Sleaford on 22/7/2025, valuation was booked five days after, all came back fine. Solicitor retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Aldermore and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Are Aldermore entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

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

My offer on a house in Sleaford has been agreed to, the owners do nevertheless have a tied purchase. The vendors have put an offer on on an apartment, but it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties booked. I have selected a high street conveyancing solicitor in Sleaford. What should be my next step? At what point should I apply for the mortgage with Clydesdale?

It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey, Sleaford conveyancing search costs, etc). First, you must check that your lawyer is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Concerning the next stages this very much dictated by the specifics of your transaction, attraction to this property and on the state of the market. During a rising market many home buyers would apply for the mortgage with Clydesdale and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to proceed with searches.

My wife and I purchased a terraced Georgian property in Sleaford. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Nationwide Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Sleaford and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the work.

I am purchasing a new build house in Sleaford with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent told me not inform my solicitor about this side-deal as it will adversely affect my loan with the bank. 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.

My father-in-law has encouraged me to instruct his conveyancers in Sleaford. Should I use them?

There are no two ways about it the best way to find a conveyancing lawyer is to have guidance from friends or family who have actually experience in using the conveyancer you're are thinking of instructing.