My lawyer has identified a a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are purchasing in West Sussex. The other side have suggested title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our lawyer has advised that he must check that the lender is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is the mortgage company ?

The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the risk of a conflict of interest, you and the lender are the client. Your conveyancing practitioner must comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects with the lease so that the lender can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your conveyancing practitioner will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.

The West Sussex conveyancing firm that I recently instructed on my purchase in West Sussex have without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I had to have a lawyer on the RBS conveyancing panel and my previous West Sussex lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for £250 in advance. What do I do now?

If you have an estate agent involved then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the RBS conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to assist.

Me and my partner are buying a house in West Sussex. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? On the day of competition we will need to put our life savings into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

I can not work out if my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my West Sussex bank branch on various occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they will lend. My West Sussex conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- called and was told they refuse to lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?

Your conveyancer has to comply with the CML Handbook Part 2 specifications for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

Intending to buy a house in West Sussex. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the West Sussex property lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel.

I'm purchasing my first flat in West Sussex with the aid of help to buy. The developers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about the side-deal as it could adversely affect my mortgage with Barnsley Building Society. 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.

Planning to complete next month on a basement flat in West Sussex. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in West Sussex should include some of the following:

Repair and maintenance of the premises How long the lease is. You should receive guidance as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

I am the registered owner of a studio flat in West Sussex, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in West Sussex with over 90 years remaining are worth £222,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2096

With 71 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.