I am nearing exchange of contracts for my ground floor flat in Marchington and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the purchasers are swapping law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only deal with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Marchington ?

UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.

Mortgage companies justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. 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 do not even realise 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 purchasing my first flat in Marchington with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to budge the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The property agent advised me not reveal to my lawyer about this side-deal as it will affect my mortgage with Godiva Mortgages Ltd. Should I keep quiet?.

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.

Are there any apps to help identify a Marchington law firm on the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel? I am a keen cyclist and am prepared to travel upto 25kilometers to meet the conveyancer.

You can use the facility on this website. Please select a mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of Marchington conveyancing lawyers locally. We have listed some Marchington conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can telephone them to verify whether they are on the Chelsea Building Society approved list

We're novice buyers - had an offer accepted, but the agent informed us that the vendor will only go ahead if we use the agent's chosen conveyancers as they need an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a local solicitor who is familiar with conveyancing in Marchington

We suspect that the seller is not behind this requirement. Should the owner require ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a genuine purchaser is going to damage their objectives. Try to communicate with the sellers directly and make sure they understand (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to progress, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you are going to instruct your own,trusted Marchington conveyancing solicitors - as opposed tothe ones that will provide their estate agent a introducer fee or meet his conveyancing thresholds set by senior management.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Marchington. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, however I have just received a half-yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you pay the maintenance contribution as you normally would given that all rents and service charges should be apportioned on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I invested in buying a split level flat in Marchington, conveyancing was carried out 3 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Marchington with over 90 years remaining are worth £201,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2089

With only 64 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £14,300 and £16,400 plus 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 renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.