My wife and I have recently appointed a conveyancing solicitor in Alton. I I am struggling to find out if they are on the Accord Mortgages Ltd approved list of lawyers. Could you advise?

The first thing to do is contact your solicitor and enquire if they are on the lender panel. Alternatively please get in touch with Accord Mortgages Ltd who may be able to confirm.

five months have elapsed following my purchase conveyancing in Alton completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £160,000. 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 property 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 purchasing a new build house in Alton with a loan from Godiva Mortgages Ltd. The developers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent advised me not disclose to my conveyancer about this extras as it may jeopardize my loan with Godiva Mortgages Ltd. 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.

We're novice buyers - agreed a price, yet the property agent advised that the seller will only issue a contract if we use their preferred solicitors as they need an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a local solicitor who is familiar with conveyancing in Alton

It is improbable the sellers are driving this. If they want ‘a quick sale', alienating a motivated purchaser is counter productive. Avoid the agents and go straight to the sellers and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to go, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you intend to use your own,trusted Alton conveyancing lawyers - as opposed tothose that will earn their estate agent a referral fee or meet his conveyancing thresholds set by head office.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Alton. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Alton are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Alton so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Alton conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

I inherited a 1st floor flat in Alton, conveyancing having been completed in 2012. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Alton with an extended lease are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2086

You have 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 professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.