My husband and I are buying a newbuild apartment in Walsingham with a homeloan from Coventry Building Society.We like our Walsingham conveyancing solicitor but Coventry Building Society advised that he's not listed on their approved list of firms. We have to appoint a Coventry Building Society panel lawyer or retain our high street solicitor and fork out for a Coventry Building Society panel lawyer to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that Coventry Building Society use our lawyer?

No, not really. The home loan issued to you is subject to its various provisions, a common one being that solicitors will be on the Coventry Building Society solicitor panel. in the past, most banks had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: 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. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Coventry Building Society

3 months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Walsingham concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £170,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Walsingham benefiting from help to buy. The developers refused to move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent suggested that I not reveal to my conveyancer about this deal as it could adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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.

Am I best advised to go with a Walsingham conveyancing lawyer in close proximity to the house I am buying? An old friend can conduct the conveyancing however his firm is located a couple of hundredmiles drive away.

The benefit of a local Walsingham conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to sign documents, deliver your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local knowledge which is a plus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who instructed your friend and on the whole were happy that should trump using an unknown Walsingham conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being round the corner.

When it comes to my conveyancing in Walsingham should I be paying VAT on the following: (1) Land reg fee on purchase (2) Pre - completion search fee (3) SDLT E submission on purchase (4) Bank TT fee

(1) Land reg fee on purchase - No (2) Pre - completion search fees -No, (such conveyancing searches are HMLR ones and means £4 and possibly £2 bankruptcy per name on your mortgage) (3) SDLT E submission on your purchase - There is no VAT on Stamp Duty. However if the firm is charging a stamp duty e-submission fee as part of their services - some Walsingham conveyancers do - that will incur VAT(4) Bank transfer fee - Yes it is for the property lawyer's time in submitting the funds this way.