My wife and I are planning to buy a house in Barmouth and are in fact using a Barmouth conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Barmouth lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Barmouth solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

Do I have to visit the offices of the solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Barmouth so that I can pop in to their offices if necessary.

Nowadays approved lawyers for banks undertake their work via the post, e-mail or over the phone. This enables them to carry out the conveyancing transaction no matter where you live in the country. That being said you can check if you have the option of visiting the offices of your conveyancing lawyer if needed.

We are downsizing from our property in Barmouth and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. A high street Barmouth conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers are using a web based conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Barmouth. Having lived in Barmouth for 4 years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to seek confirmation need.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? You should enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same ailment)

I am purchasing a new build house in Barmouth with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The property agent told me not to tell my lawyer about this extras as it will affect my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

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.

I own a leasehold flat in Barmouth. Conveyancing and mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Barmouth who acted for me is not around. Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Barmouth conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Barmouth Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

What restrictions exist in the Barmouth Lease? The answer will be helpful as a) areas can cause problems for the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have complete disclosure In the main the cost for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, although some managing agents in Barmouth require tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major works.