My solicitor has uncovered a defect with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in East Dean. The seller’s lawyers have offered title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our solicitor has advised that he must check that the mortgage company is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the lender?

Even though you have a mortgage offer from the bank does not mean to say that the property will meet their conditions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. You and the lender are the client. The appropriate lender provisions must be adhered to.

we are a couple who are buying a newbuild apartment in East Dean with a residential mortgage from Lloyds TSB Bank.We like our East Dean conveyancing lawyer but Lloyds TSB Bank informed us she’s not on their "panel". we are left little option but to use a Lloyds TSB Bank panel solicitor or retain our local solicitor and pay for a Lloyds TSB Bank panel lawyer to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you contains various provisions, a common one being that lawyers will be on the Lloyds TSB Bank conveyancing panel. in the past, most banks had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could find 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 Lloyds TSB Bank

I used Action Conveyancing several years ago for my conveyancing in East Dean. Now, I need the documents however the law firm has closed. What do I do?

You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in East Dean of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I'm buying a new build house in East Dean with a loan from Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. The builders refused to move on the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about the deal as it will affect my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.

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.

How can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my commercial offices in East Dean and how can you help?

The 1954 Act provides a safeguard to business lessees, granting the right to make a request to court for a renewal tenancy and remain in occupation at the end of the lease term. There are limited grounds that a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are involved. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing firms who use the act for protection and assist with commercial conveyancing in East Dean