My wife and I are looking to buy a property in Norton and are in fact using a Norton conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Birmingham Midshires have this evening contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Norton solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

Where you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. 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 solicitor 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 lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Norton solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

Do the conveyancing practitioners identified through your search tool carry out auction conveyancing in Norton?

There are a few auction solicitors we can put you in touch with those specialising in auction conveyancing. Norton is just one of the many locations in which our lawyers are based.

I'm purchasing a new build house in Norton benefiting from help to buy. The developers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not to tell my lawyer about the side-deal as it could adversely affect my mortgage 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.

I opted to have a survey completed on a house in Norton ahead of instructing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to issue a loan on such a home.

It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different requirements from Nationwide. If you e-mail us we can investigate further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Norton. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Norton. Conveyancing has not commenced, but I have recently had a half-yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge the maintenance contribution as normal because all rents and maintenance invoices should be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents 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 am the registered owner of a studio flat in Norton, conveyancing formalities finalised April 2011. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Norton with over 90 years remaining are worth £176,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2075

With just 50 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.