Me and my fiance are purchasing a 3 bedroom apartment in Willingham with a mortgage. We like our Willingham solicitor, but the lender says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel firms or keep our Willingham solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose 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. Another option that might be available is for your Willingham conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

We are getting the release of further funds on our home loan from Clydesdale as we intend to conduct alterations to our property in Willingham. Do we need to choose a local Willingham solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

Clydesdale would not normally instruct firms on their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Clydesdale panel.

I had a mortgage agreed in principle with Leeds Building Society. Willingham conveyancing lawyers are selected. How long does it take for Leeds Building Society to forward the offer to the conveyancing practitioner?

There is no definitive answer here. Have Leeds Building Society completed the valuation? Have you informed Leeds Building Society as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Willingham. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £175. Soon after, the lawyer contacted me to say that they were not on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Clydesdale panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I have recentlyfound out that Action Conveyancing have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Willingham for a purchase of a freehold house 12 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest way to see if the property is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Willingham conveyancing specialists.

I opted to have a survey done on a house in Willingham ahead of instructing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. My surveyor advised that some lenders will not give a mortgage on such a premises.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Nationwide. If you contact us we can look into this further via the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Willingham. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Willingham especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Willingham.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years remaining on my lease in Willingham. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Willingham.

I acquired a basement flat in Willingham, conveyancing was carried out in 2004. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Willingham with a long lease are worth £191,000. The ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2077

With only 53 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £27,600 and £31,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.