Me and my partner are intending to buy a 1 bedroom flat in Deddington with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Deddington solicitor, however the lender says he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to select one of the bank panel firms or retain our Deddington and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. Your mortgage offer 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 Deddington conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

Do I have to attend the offices of the solicitor to sign the mortgage deed? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in Deddington so that I can attend their offices if required.

Nowadays conveyancing panel lawyers for banks undertake their work via the post, internet or over phone calls. This enables them to undertake the legal work for your home move no matter where you live in the country. However you should see if you can still book an appointment to visit conveyancing lawyer if just in case this is required.

A friend suggested that if I am buying in Deddington I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

This is a search is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Deddington conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Deddington 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, Deddington Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Deddington.

I'm buying a new build house in Deddington with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The property agent told me not inform my lawyer about the deal as it would impact my mortgage with . Should I keep quiet?.

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.

I bought a 2 bed flat in Deddington, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1995. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Deddington with an extended lease are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 50

With 50 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £36,100 and £41,800 plus 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 are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.