We are purchasing a newly built apartment in Buckinghamshire and my solicitor is advising me that she is duty bound to the bank to disclose incentives from the builder. I am on a tight deadline to exchange contracts and I would rather not delay the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

I am buying a terraced house in Buckinghamshire. Conveyancing solicitors are said to be ‘a necessary evil’ but can I do it myself?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Buckinghamshire you will have to appoint a solicitor on your mortgage company's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Buckinghamshire.

My wife and I have arranged the release of further monies on our mortgage from Skipton as we want to carry out alterations to our house in Buckinghamshire. Are we obliged to select a nearby Buckinghamshire solicitor on the Skipton conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?

Skipton do not ordinarily appoint firms on their approved list of lawyers 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 Skipton panel.

The mortgage over my property is with Coventry BS for my property in Buckinghamshire. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Coventry BS?

You must advise Coventry BS prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Coventry BS’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Coventry BS will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Coventry BS directly. You need not do this via a Coventry BS conveyancing panel firm.

I am due to exchange contracts on my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in September 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Bank of Ireland are being pedantic. The Buckinghamshire solicitor who is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Bank of Ireland are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Bank of Ireland have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Bank of Ireland have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Bank of Ireland may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one near me in Buckinghamshire I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Buckinghamshire in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a mortgage that many years will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.

My fiance and I may need to sub-let our Buckinghamshire garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Buckinghamshire conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Buckinghamshire conveyancing lawyer is not available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Buckinghamshire, conveyancing was carried out September 1999. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable properties in Buckinghamshire with an extended lease are worth £195,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2088

With just 64 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £14,300 and £16,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.