My wife and I are looking to buy a flat in Lyneham and have appointed a Lyneham conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Nationwide Building Society have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Lyneham solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?

Where you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Lyneham lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

My partner and I are acquiring our first property. Our conveyancing practitioner has e-mailedto enquire if we would like to take out supplemental conveyancing searches. Frankly we have no idea as to what's needed for conveyancing in Lyneham

The extent of Lyneham conveyancing searches should be dictated primarily on the premises, the location, the likelihood of any of these risks, your familiarity of the region and risks, your general approach to risk. What matters is that you properly appreciate what information the searches could give you. You may then make a decision if you consider that you need that search. Where you are uncertain, ask your conveyancing practitioner to explain.

I am purchasing a new build house in Lyneham with a mortgage from Birmingham Midshires. The sellers would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about the deal as it will jeopardize my mortgage with Birmingham Midshires. Is this normal?.

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.

I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one close by in Lyneham I like with open areas and station nearby, however it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Lyneham in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Lyneham from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lyneham can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Lyneham conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Lyneham state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.

I bought a 1st floor flat in Lyneham, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Lyneham with over 90 years remaining are worth £265,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2099

With only 75 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.