I am acquiring a brand new flat in St James and my solicitor is informing me that she is duty bound to the lender to reveal incentives from the builder. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange and I would rather not prolong the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
I used Wolstenholmes several years ago for my conveyancing in St James. I now require my file however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in St James of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
I am purchasing a new build house in St James with a loan from Virgin Money. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The property agent told me not inform my conveyancer about this side-deal as it would adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. 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.
Are there any apps to help search for a St James solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am prepared to travel upto 25kilometers to meet the conveyancer.
You can use the search on this website. Please choose the bank and your location and you will see a number of St James conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have listed some St James conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can ring them to check whether they are on the Leeds Building Society approved list
I am using a search engine for the phrase cheap conveyancing in St James it brings up many solicitorsin the vicinity. With so much choice what is the best way to find the suitable solicitor for my move?
The preferential method of seeking the right conveyancer is via trusted referral, so seek the guidance of friends and family who have purchased a property in St James or the local estate agent or financial adviser. Fees for conveyancing in St James differ, so it's advisable to secure at least four quotes from varying types of conveyancers. Be sure to seek confirmation what costs in the quote includes.
We yesterday found out that one of the directors of the firm acting on the purchase conveyancing in St James is an uncle of the owners that we are purchasing from. Is this allowed?
As long as there is no conflict of interest this is permitted. Where you are obtaining a mortgage then the mortgage company may have a say as many banks have specific requirements on this. For example for Barclays plc as of 13/8/2025, the requirements read as follows :