Our son-in-law is in the process of securing a newly built flat in Marylebone with a home loan from Yorkshire BS. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?

The form 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 Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested. 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 Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

I have a mortgage with Aldermore for my property in Marylebone. Conveyancing was finalised months ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Aldermore?

You must advise Aldermore before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Aldermore’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Aldermore directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Aldermore conveyancing panel lawyer.

I was told four weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Lloyds. Is it usual for Lloyds to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Marylebone is approved on their conveyancing panel? Lloyds have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.

A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Lloyds to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

Leeds Building Society have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a apartment in Marylebone has been accepted, what are the next steps?

Your estate agent will want to be informed of your lawyer's details (ensure that the conveyancers are on the lender’s panel). Call up Leeds Building Society or the financial adviser and finish off any outstanding paperwork. Leeds Building Society will appoint a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or owners to arrange a time for the valuation to happen. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a week to get a mortgage offer. Leeds Building Society will issue the offer to you and your lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Marylebone.

I have been told that property searches are the main cause of delay in Marylebone house deals. Is that correct?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the top 10 causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Searches are not likely to be the root cause of delay in conveyancing in Marylebone.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £305k and identified one round the corner in Marylebone I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Marylebone suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?

Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Discount the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.

We are purchasing a three bedroom first floor flatin Marylebone with a residential mortgage from a mortgage company. We would like to retain our conveyancer in Marylebone however our bank advise he's not approved on their "panel". Apparently we need to choose one of the our bank panel firms or stay with our Marylebone conveyancer and incur the extra fees for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage company home loan issued is subject to conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank's conveyancing panel. in the past, most lenders had open panels, including almost all conveyancing solicitors in Marylebone : a borrower could choose 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. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your mortgage company.