My husband and I are only a couple days away from an exchange on a property in Cambridgeshire and my mum and dad have sent the 10% deposit to my lawyer. I am now informed that as the deposit has not come from me my conveyancing practitioner needs to disclose this to my bank. Apparently, in also acting for the bank he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I informed the mortgage company regarding my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really necessary for him to raise this?

The conveyancer is legally required to clarify with mortgage company to make sure that they understand that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. The solicitor can only notify this to your lender if you permit them to, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.

I happen to be the single beneficiary of my late grandmother’s will and I have everything in my name alone, including the house in Cambridgeshire. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in November. I want to move. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', which means that my property ownership may be treated the same way as if I'd bought the property in November. Will no one buy the property for half a year?

The CML handbook mandates solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you might be caught by that. How practical a view banks take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this obligation is principally there to pick up on subsales or the flipping of property.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Cambridgeshire. I have a mortgage offer with Aldermore. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Aldermore, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Aldermore conveyancing panel.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Cambridgeshire. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £175. Shortly after, the conveyancer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Barclays panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Cambridgeshire with a mortgage from Nottingham Building Society. The sellers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative told me not inform my solicitor about this extras as it would affect 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.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Cambridgeshire I like with a park and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 52 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Cambridgeshire suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?

If you require a home loan that many years will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Cambridgeshire. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Cambridgeshire are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Cambridgeshire in which case you should be shopping around for a Cambridgeshire conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

I inherited a 1st floor flat in Cambridgeshire, conveyancing was carried out in 2001. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in Cambridgeshire with a long lease are worth £222,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2094

With just 70 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.