My fiance and I are looking to buy a flat in Little Mill and have appointed a Little Mill conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Leeds Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Little Mill lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Little Mill solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

It is 10 years ago since I bought my house in Little Mill. Conveyancing lawyers have now been instructed on the sale but I am unable to locate my deeds. Is this a major issue?

Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be kept by your mortgage company or they may be archived with the conveyancers who handled the purchase. Secondly in all probability the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Little Mill relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.

I am purchasing a terraced house in Little Mill. Conveyancing solicitors are said to be ‘a necessary evil’ but can I do it myself?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Little Mill you will have to appoint a solicitor on your bank's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Little Mill.

I'm buying a new build house in Little Mill benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative told me not to tell my conveyancer about this side-deal as it may put at risk my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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 appointing a Little Mill conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Little Mill conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Little Mill conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions could be helpful:

How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation? What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

I own a studio flat in Little Mill, conveyancing having been completed 10 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in Little Mill with over 90 years remaining are worth £227,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2097

With just 72 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.