We are purchasing a 2 bedroom flat in Bloomsbury with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Bloomsbury lawyer, but the mortgage company says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel firms or retain our Bloomsbury lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We regard this is inequitable; can we not insist that the bank use our Bloomsbury lawyer ?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms 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. A further alternative is for your Bloomsbury conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Bloomsbury? Why is this being asked of me?

Bloomsbury conveyancing solicitors as well as nationwide property practitioners accross the UK have an obligation under Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules to verify the ID of any client in order to ensure that clients are who they say they are.

Conveyancing clients will need to produce two forms of certified ID; proof of identity (typically a Passport or Driving Licence) and evidence of address (typically a Utility Bill no older than three months).

Evidence of the origin of funds is also necessary in compliance with the money laundering statutes as conveyancers are required to investigate that the monies you are using to buy a property (whether it be the deposit for exchange or the full purchase monies if you are buying without a mortgage) has come from legitimate source (such as an inheritance) rather than the fruits of criminal behaviour.

I have a terraced Edwardian house in Bloomsbury. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and The Mortgage Works. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You need to assess 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 Bloomsbury and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.

I'm buying my first flat in Bloomsbury with a mortgage from Alliance & Leicester . The builders refused to move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent suggested that I not disclose to my lawyer about the deal as it will put at risk my loan with the bank. 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.

Are there any apps to assist me to identify a Bloomsbury law firm on the HSBC Bank conveyancing panel? I have wheels and am willing to travel upto 25miles to meet the conveyancer.

Feel free to make use of the tool on this website. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of Bloomsbury conveyancing lawyers based on proximity. We have listed some Bloomsbury conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can telephone them to see if they are on the HSBC Bank panel