I am need of leasehold conveyancing for an apartment in a fairly new development (6 years old) in Rugeley. 95% of the properties are already disposed of. Is it really necessary to order neighbourhood searches for my conveyancing in Rugeley?

If you getting a mortgage, your lender will need some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Rugeley conveyancing searches are optional. No doubt your conveyancer, will 'advise', perhaps in the strongest possible terms, that you should not go ahead without searches, but he or she has a professional duty to do this. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you insist that your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or you may need to instruct a new lawyer for your conveyancing in Rugeley.

We note that you have a post code search directory listing law firms on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Do companies pay you a commission if I instruct them for our own conveyancing in Rugeley?

We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Rugeley.

We previously instructed solicitors with offices in Rugeley on the RBS solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a supplemental amount for the legal aspects of the RBS mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by RBS?

Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitor can charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by RBS but by your Rugeley solicitor. Some firms on the RBS panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee but some practices incorporate it on their overall fee.

My partner and I have organised the release of further monies on our mortgage from Leeds Building Society as we intend to carry out alterations to our house in Rugeley. Do we need to select a local Rugeley solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?

Leeds Building Society do not ordinarily instruct firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel.

I have a mortgage with Lloyds for my property in Rugeley. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Lloyds?

You must advise Lloyds before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Lloyds’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Lloyds will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Lloyds directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Lloyds conveyancing panel firm.

I am purchasing my first flat in Rugeley with a loan from Barnsley Building Society. The sellers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent advised me not reveal to my conveyancer about this side-deal as it would impact my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.

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.

Given that I will soon spend £400,000 on a house in Rugeley I would like to have a conversation with the lawyer regarding thehouse move in advance of instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

We could not agree more - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the conveyancer who will be carrying out your conveyancing in Rugeley.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is unique individual, not a file number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are quoted for your conveyancing in Rugeley should be the figure that you end up paying.