We are selling our home in Stokesley. Does my property lawyer need to be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Nationwide conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently in recent years.

3 months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Stokesley took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

I'm buying my first flat in Stokesley benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to budge the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The property agent told me not reveal to my conveyancer about the extras as it will adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

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.

Taking into account that I am about to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on 3 bedroom house in Stokesley I would like to have a conversation with the lawyer regarding thehouse move ahead of instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

This is something that we encourage - we would be delighted to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the conveyancer due to be doing your conveyancing in Stokesley.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is an important person, not a case number. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are provided with for residential conveyancing in Stokesley should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Stokesley. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, however I have recently received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the service charge as you normally would because all ground rent and service invoices will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed 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 acquired a studio flat in Stokesley, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2007. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Stokesley with an extended lease are worth £190,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2085

With just 61 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £19,000 and £22,000 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.