I am in the process of selling my maisonette in Folkestone and the EA has just text me to warn that the buyers are swapping law firm. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only work with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Folkestone ?

Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for decades.

Mortgage companies blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. 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 are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.

Does a directory service exist listing Nationwide panel solicitors in Folkestone on the Building Society Association’s Website?

Unfortunately not yet. There is no such facility on the CML or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of mortgage companies make their panel listings open the public online. Where you are in need of a Folkestone conveyancing practitioner on the Nationwide please use our tool.

We previously appointed solicitors with offices in Folkestone on the Leeds Building Society solicitor panel. They are now charging me an additional amount for the legal aspects of the Leeds Building Society mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Leeds Building Society?

Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your property lawyer can charge a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Leeds Building Society but by your Folkestone property lawyer. Numerous firms on the Leeds Building Society panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.

The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Folkestone. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?

All lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.

I used Action Conveyancing a few years past for my conveyancing in Folkestone. I now require my file however the law firm has closed. What do I do?

Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Folkestone of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I am buying a new build house in Folkestone benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The sale representative told me not inform my conveyancer about this side-deal as it may impact my mortgage with Yorkshire Building Society. Should I keep quiet?.

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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Folkestone from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Folkestone can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers’ conveyancers.
Some Folkestone leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers. If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Folkestone conveyancing deal. Where a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

I bought a garden flat in Folkestone, conveyancing was carried out September 2002. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Folkestone with a long lease are worth £211,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2092

With just 68 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.