Guru says

Help. I am looking to buy a house for the first time and will need to find a solicitor. What should I do?

Try and use one that your friends or family have used before and had good service. If not you should ask him or her all these questions:-

How much will it cost me?

The trick with lawyers is to keep on top of the costs. That might sound negative or a bit aggressive but the danger is that they can run away with the work and before you know it you have run up a huge bill.

How will you keep me informed of costs?

Some solicitors can give you online access to see how much time they have spent on the work and how much it has cost to date.

Will you do a fixed rate deal?

Some law firms will quote you a price for a piece of work, irrespective of how long it takes. The advantage is that they must stick to this estimate - unless you add in extra work

Who is going to do the work?

There are basically three types of lawyer: the partners (most expensive), assistant solicitors (cheaper, usually aspiring to be a partner) and articled clerks - training to be a solicitor. The latter are the cheapest but least experienced.

Do we need to meet?

Try and accomplish as much as you can over the phone or by email.

Do you do this type of work?

There are a huge numbers of specialists so ideally you want someone with previous experience of the kind of work you are doing.

What if the bill is far more than I expected?

If you don't like the bill there are ways it can be challenged. Go the Law Society's website for help.

I'm looking at my first mortgage and can't decide fixed or variable rate? What would you suggest?

First time buyers are usually lending sums right up to the top of their limit and any change in the mortgage rate upwards could spell financial disaster. Therefore if an increase in your monthly payments puts you in financial difficulty then you need to look at fixed rates only. If you have some surplus income you can look at variable rates as well.

I went to get a new mobile phone and they checked my credit score. What are they doing?

Credit reference agencies maintain files on all your borrowings from credit cards to mortgages and any arrears or defaults will affect your ability to borrow in future. Every time you apply for a credit card, personal loan, mortgage or any other form of borrowing, this information is passed to the major credit reference agencies like Experian and Equifax.  If the borrowing is granted that is noted - as well as any rejections.  Once the borrowing is in place the lender will inform the credit reference agencies of your payment track record – good and bad information. Companies can then search for your credit rating on this database when you apply for a credit card, mobile phone or mortgage.