My wife and I are buying a newly constructed duplex in Sheringham and my lawyer is informing me that she is duty bound to the lender to reveal incentives from the seller. I am under pressure to exchange contracts and my preference is not to delay matters. Is my lawyer right?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

We are buying a property and require a conveyancing solicitor in Sheringham who is on the Nationwide solicitor panel. Can you recommend a local firm?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Nationwide . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Sheringham.

Me and my partner are purchasing a house in Sheringham. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? On completion day we will need to put our life savings into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

Is it the case that all Sheringham CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Lloyds conveyancing panel?

Some major lenders now utilise the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.

My wife and I are at the point of viewing houses in Sheringham and I am about to put in an offer. Is it advisable to have a solicitor on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a home loan with Bank of Ireland.

You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the selling agent. As you are getting a mortgage with Bank of Ireland, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Sheringham?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Sheringham. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I am buying my first flat in Sheringham benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The estate agent told me not to tell my solicitor about the deal as it will adversely affect my loan with TSB. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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.