Some advice if I may. My Hampton Hill conveyancer is assuring me that he is legally obliged toconduct Hampton Hill conveyancing searches asthe firm are on the HSBCsolicitor panel. Is this really necessary?

You have limited options available to you. As you are obtaining a mortgage with a lender your conveyancing practitioner has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Hampton Hill conveyancing searches.

Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in Hampton Hill costs more?

The conveyancing charges on a leasehold premises in Hampton Hill is frequently greater than on a freehold acquisition or disposal. This is due to the additional work required in liaising with the freeholder and management company to obtain evidence about whether the rent and service charges have been discharged and whether there are any large sums expected to be spent in the near future on repairs or maintenance of the building.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Bank of Ireland. I assume I don't need a Hampton Hill lawyer on the Bank of Ireland panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.

If you have finished paying off your Bank of Ireland mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Bank of Ireland mortgage from the register. Bank of Ireland, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Bank of Ireland has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Bank of Ireland has instructed the Land Registry to do so

After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Hampton Hill. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their conveyancing practitioner. I paid an upfront payment of £175. Shortly after, the lawyer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Nationwide panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

Santander have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a house in Hampton Hill has been accepted, what happens next?

The property agent will need to know who your solicitors are (be sure the solicitors are on the lender’s panel). Call up Santander or the broker and complete any outstanding documentation. Santander will sellect a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or vendor to arrange an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes on average a week for the mortgage offer to be issued. Santander will issue the offer to you and your lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Hampton Hill.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Hampton Hill benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not inform my solicitor about the side-deal as it would adversely affect my mortgage with the bank. 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've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Hampton Hill is the location of the property. Is there any advice you can give?

Flying freeholds in Hampton Hill are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Hampton Hill you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Hampton Hill may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.