We are about to exchange contracts for a freehold house in The Borough. We encountered a stumbling block. Our mortgage offer with Birmingham Midshires runs out on 28/3/2025 but the vendors are putting forward a completion date of 1/4/2025. Is it possible to prolong the mortgage offer?

The person best placed to address this concern is your lawyer who will calculate whether he or she is corresponding with the mortgage company, owner’s conveyancers, selling agents or possibly all three taking into account what has gone on in your house move as of today.

Me and my brother have a 4 bedroom Victorian house in The Borough. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Aldermore. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You should review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in The Borough and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the work.

I'm buying my first flat in The Borough with a loan from Birmingham Midshires. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The estate agent told me not to tell my lawyer about this deal as it could impact my loan with Birmingham Midshires. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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.

Am I right to be concerned by estate agents that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a nationwide conveyancing firm as opposed to a local The Borough conveyancing company?

As is the case with lots of professional services, often referrals from relatives can be extremely useful or valuable. Yet there are numerous parties with a vested interest in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, financial adviser and lenders might all put forward lawyers to select. On occasion these solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there might be a financial incentive behind the recommendation. You are at liberty to select your own lawyer. You need to be aware that the majority of banks specify a panel list of law firms you must use for the lender related work in your home move.

We're first time buyers - agreed a price, yet the agent told us that the owners will only go ahead if we use their chosen conveyancers as they need a ‘quick sale’. We would rather use a high street conveyancer accustomed to conveyancing in The Borough

It is highly unlikely the owners are driving this. If they require ‘a quick sale', turning down a serious buyer is is going to put the whole deal at risk. Speak to the vendors direct and make the point that (a)you are genuine buyers (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you intend to appoint your own,trusted The Borough conveyancing solicitors - as opposed tothose that will provide the negotiator at the agency a commission or hit his conveyancing targets pre-set by senior management.