Much to our surprise we have been informed by our financial adviser that my Eastbourne property lawyer is not on the bank Conveyancing panel. How can I check?

Your first step should be to contact your Eastbourne lawyer directly. You lawyer should inform you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your bank.

What is the first thing I need to know concerning purchase conveyancing in Eastbourne?

Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Eastbourne and elsewhere in England and Wales is often a confrontational process. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of opportunity for conflict between you and other parties involved in the ownership transfer. For example, the seller, property agent and sometimes the bank. Choosing a lawyer for your conveyancing in Eastbourne should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE person in the process whose interest is to protect your best interests and to protect you.

Every so often a potential adversary may attempt to sway you that it is in your interests to do things their way. For example, the estate agent may claim to be assisting by claiming that your solicitor is wrong. Or your mortgage broker may try to convince you to do take action that is contrary to your lawyers advice. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the home moving process.

I am close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our property in Eastbourne and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed land that was not decontaminated. A high street Eastbourne lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers are using a nationwide conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Eastbourne. We have lived in Eastbourne for many years we know of no issue. Should we contact our local Authority to obtain clarification need.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same sickness)

I'm purchasing my first flat in Eastbourne with a mortgage from Alliance & Leicester . The sellers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent advised me not inform my solicitor about this deal as it may impact my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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.

We are in the middle of purchasing a residence in Eastbourne. Conveyancing lawyer has told us the title is "Leasehold". Does this impact our mortgage valuation?

Eastbourne conveyancing does not ordinarily involve leasehold houses. The main factor here is the length of lease and the ground rent. If it's 999 years with a peppercorn rent, it's almost the same as freehold, so it’s unlikely to impact the marketability significantly.

At the other end of the spectrum, if it's, say, Sixty years it is bound to have a adverse impact on the value, and most likely wouldn't be acceptable to the bank. The remaining lease term and ground rent will be specified in the lease which should be made available to your lawyer.