Our conveyancer has uncovered a defect with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Cottenham. The other side have put forward title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our conveyancing practitioner has advised that he must be satisfied that the lender is content with this solution. Are we the client or is the mortgage company ?

Notwithstanding that you have a mortgage offer from the mortgage company does not mean to say that the property will meet their provisions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. You and the mortgage company are the client. These conveyancing instructions have to be complied with.

Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Cottenham is more expensive?

Cottenham leasehold properties involve far more paperwork than a freehold purchase, and therefore takes more time to examine and advise upon.Conveyancing will involve the lease having to be checked which is usually a lengthy document, queries raised to ensure that the covenants and conditions have been observed. If it is a flat there will be a management company in existence and the accounts of this will need to be checked and enquiries raised to ensure it is operating efficiently and that all monies due have been paid by the Seller to the company and if not ensuring that money is paid up to date or the appropriate undertakings obtained.

My aunt passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in Cottenham. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £8000. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Co-operative, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?

Where you plan to refinance then Co-operative will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Co-operative conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Co-operative mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

I'm purchasing a new build house in Cottenham benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not to tell my solicitor about the deal as it may jeopardize my loan with the lender. 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.

Taking into account that I will soon spend 450k on a house in Cottenham I wish to talk to a solicitor regarding thehouse move before giving the go ahead to the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

This is something that we encourage - we would be delighted to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the solicitor due to be carrying out your property ownership legalities in Cottenham.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is an important person, not a case reference. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are calculated and presented to you for your conveyancing in Cottenham should be the figure that you are charged.