My husband and I intend to purchase a 3 bedroom apartment in Bradwell with a homeloan from .We like our Bradwell conveyancing lawyer but says his firm is not listed on their "panel". We have to appoint a panel solicitor or keep our high street solicitor and fork out for a panel lawyer to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that use our lawyer?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage issued to you contains various provisions, one of which will be that solicitors must be on the conveyancing panel. Until recently, most mortgage companies had large numbers of law firms 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. Another option that might be available is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for

A friend suggested that where I am buying in Bradwell I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is usually included in the estimate for your Bradwell conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Bradwell around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Bradwell Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding Bradwell.

I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one close by in Bradwell I like with a park and station in the vicinity, however it only has 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Bradwell in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?

If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.

I need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer in Bradwell for my house move. Can I check a solicitor's complaints history with the profession’s regulator?

You can read documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations stemming from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For information about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For non-uk callers, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes monitor telephone calls for training reasons.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Bradwell. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you pay the invoice as usual as all ground rent and service payments will be allotted on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I invested in buying a studio flat in Bradwell, conveyancing formalities finalised 1995. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Bradwell with a long lease are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 50

With 50 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.