I am one month into the sale of my ground floor flat in Henlow and the EA has just called to say that the purchasers are switching conveyancer. The excuse is that the mortgage company will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a big named mortgage company only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Henlow ?

Banks have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.

Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

I'm the single recipient of my late father’s estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Henlow. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in October. I want to move. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my property ownership may be considered the same way as though I had purchased the house in October. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ 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 caught by that. Some mortgage companies would take a sensible view as this clause principally exists to identify subsales or the flipping of property.

Can I be sure that the Henlow conveyancing solicitor on the Coventry BS panel is any good?

When it comes to conveyancing in Henlow seeking recommendations is a sensible start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always advise that you speak with the lawyer conducting your conveyancing.

I've digested plenty of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Henlow solicitor - who is on the TSB conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?

TSB will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually TSB will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Henlow surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

A friend advised me that if I am buying in Henlow I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

A search of this type is sometimes included in the estimate for your Henlow conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Henlow around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Henlow Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Henlow.

As co-executor for the estate of my uncle I am selling a residence in Cardiff but live in Henlow. My conveyancer (who is 300 kilometers from merequires that I execute a stat dec ahead of completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Henlow to attest this legal document for me?

strictly speaking you should not be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or solicitor will do regardless of whether they are Henlow based

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Henlow both have approximately fifty years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Henlow. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena.

I acquired a ground floor flat in Henlow, conveyancing was carried out March 1998. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Henlow with over 90 years remaining are worth £202,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2080

You have 56 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £29,500 and £34,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.