I am nearing exchange of contracts for my apartment in Buckingham and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the buyers are appointing a new conveyancer. The reason given is that the bank will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only work with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Buckingham ?

Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the last few years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for over 25 years.

Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

Do all mortgage companies provide you with an approved list of Buckingham conveyancing solicitors? How do you know who is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel?

Buckingham conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Nationwide conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Nationwide directly.

Me and my brother own a terraced Georgian house in Buckingham. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Accord Mortgages Ltd. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Buckingham and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.

I am buying my first flat in Buckingham with a loan from Coventry Building Society. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not inform my lawyer about this extras as it would impact my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.

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.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Buckingham 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We instructed a Buckingham conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last Buckingham conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without prior consent. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I own a ground floor flat in Buckingham, conveyancing was carried out 8 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Buckingham with over 90 years remaining are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2093

With only 69 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.