It is 10 years ago since I bought my property in Finchley. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been retained on the sale but I am unable to locate the deeds. Is this a major issue?

You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be with the lender or they may still be with the conveyancers who handled the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Finchley involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.

I'm the only recipient of my late father’s estate and I have everything in my name alone, including the my former home in Finchley. The Finchley property was put into my name in October. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship will be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the property in October. Is the property unsalable for six months?

The CML handbook requires conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you might be affected by that. Some mortgage companies would take a practical view as this requirement primarily exists to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of property.

We had instructed conveyancers locally in Finchley on the HSBC solicitor approved list. They have just billed me an additional charge for handling the HSBC mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by HSBC?

Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your conveyancing practitioner may levy a fee for this. This fee is not set by HSBC but by your Finchley solicitor. Some firms on the HSBC panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.

I am expecting a DIP from Coventry BS this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Coventry BS recommend any Finchley solicitors on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?

You will need to appoint Finchley solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Coventry BS through the process.

I'm buying my first flat in Finchley with a mortgage from Platform Home Loans Ltd. The sellers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent suggested that I not disclose to my conveyancer about this extras as it will impact my loan with Platform Home Loans Ltd. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Finchley conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Finchley conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Finchley conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be useful:

What are the legal fees for lease extension work? If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

I am the registered owner of a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Finchley. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for the purchase of the freehold?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Finchley residence is Ground Floor 110 Station Road in June 2013. The Tribunal found that the premium payable for a lease extension should be £31,665. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 56.65 years.

My fiance and I are purchasing a 2 bedroom housein Finchley with a home loan from a mortgage company. We wish to instruct our conveyancer in Finchley however our bank says she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct one of the our lender panel solicitors or stay with our Finchley solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent our bank. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The lender mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank's conveyancing panel. Until recently, most mortgage companies had open panels, including many conveyancing solicitors in Finchley : a mortgagee could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your bank.