My grandson is purchasing a new build apartment in Gunnersbury with a mortgage from Santander. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?

The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Santander conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when asked. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Santander conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

My fiance and I wish to acquire a newly converted flat in Gunnersbury with a homeloan from HSBC Bank.We have a Gunnersbury conveyancing solicitor but HSBC Bank says he's not on their approved list of member firms. It seems we are left with no choice but to instruct a HSBC Bank panel firm or keep our high street solicitor and fork out for a HSBC Bank panel lawyer to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that HSBC Bank use our lawyer?

Unfortunately,no. The home loan offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, a common one being that lawyers must be on the HSBC Bank approved list. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find 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 HSBC Bank

I have paid off my mortgage with Principality. I assume I don't need a Gunnersbury solicitor on the Principality panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your Principality mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Principality mortgage from the register. Principality, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Principality has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Principality has instructed the Land Registry to do so

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Gunnersbury. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £175. Shortly after, the lawyer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Coventry BS 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 Coventry BS 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.

TSB have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a property in Gunnersbury has been accepted, what are the next steps?

The estate agent will need to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the lawyers are on the bank’s approved list). Contact TSB or your broker and finalise any appropriate documentation. TSB will sellect a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or owners to book an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately ten days to receive the mortgage offer. TSB will send the offer to you and your property lawyers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Gunnersbury.

In sourcing the web for the phrase conveyancing in Gunnersbury it reveals numerous solicitorslocally. With so much choice what is the best way to find the right conveyancing solicitor for the sale of my house?

The best method of finding the right conveyancer is through a personal recommendation, so ask colleagues and those you trust who have bought a property in Gunnersbury or a local estate agent or financial adviser. Charges for conveyancing in Gunnersbury differ, so it's advisable to secure at least three quotes from different property lawyers. Make sure that you clarify that the costs are assured not to to be inflated.

I only have Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Gunnersbury. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Gunnersbury.

After years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Gunnersbury. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

if there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Gunnersbury residence is 169 Southfield Road in September 2013. the tribunal decided that the premium to be paid in respect of the collective enfranchisement should be £51,203 This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 64.64 years.