Our lawyer has uncovered a a problem with the lease for the apartment we are purchasing in Frinton and Walton. The seller’s lawyers have put forward defective title insurance as a solution. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our lawyer says that he must be satisfied that the lender is content with this solution. Who is the client here, us or the mortgage company ?

Regardless of the fact that you have a mortgage offer from the bank does not mean to say that the property will meet their provisions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. You and the mortgage company are the client. The appropriate lender requirements must be adhered to.

I'm buying my first flat in Frinton and Walton with a loan from Alliance & Leicester . The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The estate agent suggested that I not to tell my conveyancer about this deal as it would affect my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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 have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and identified one close by in Frinton and Walton I like with open areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Frinton and Walton suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan that many years may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.

I have been pointed in your direction by a number of estate agents in Frinton and Walton to locate a conveyancer using your seach tool. What’s the financial inducement for Estate Agents to promote your lawyers over and above a competitor’s?

We refuse to offer any commission for pointing buyers and sellers our way. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.

Two months into purchasing a residence in Frinton and Walton. Conveyancing lawyer has called to say the property is "Leasehold". Does this make a difference on our Halifax valuation?

Frinton and Walton conveyancing does not in most situations involve leasehold houses. The crucial factor here is the length of lease and the ground rent. If there are over a hundred years remaining with a peppercorn rent, it's virtually freehold, so it shouldn't impact the value too much.

At the other extreme, if it's, say, fifty five years it will have a significant effect on the saleability, and most likely wouldn't be acceptable to the bank. The length of lease and ground rent will be set out in the lease provided to your property lawyer.