I am hoping to complete my purchase in Lixwm next Tuesday. I have now been asked to send a copy of my building insurance schedule by my solicitor as he says that he has to check this in his capacity as lawyer for the bank. What does the insurance need to cover?

All property lawyers on acting for banks would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s Part 2 requirements. These obligations are not limited to conveyancing in Lixwm.

It is a dozen years since I acquired my house in Lixwm. Conveyancing solicitors have now been instructed on the sale but I can't find the title deeds. Will this jeopardise the sale?

You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a chance that the deeds will be with your lender or they may be archived with the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly in all probability the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors procuring up to date copy of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Lixwm relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is not registered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.

My fiance and I are buying a 3 bedroom apartment in Lixwm with a residential mortgage from Santander.We have a Lixwm conveyancing lawyer but Santander informed us she’s not listed on their "panel". We have to appoint a Santander panel solicitor or retain our high street solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. The mortgage offered to you contains various provisions, a common one being that solicitors will be on the Santander approved list. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could find 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 lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Santander

I am purchasing a new build house in Lixwm with the aid of help to buy. The builders refused to reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The estate agent told me not reveal to my solicitor about the side-deal as it would impact my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.

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.

We are in the middle of buying a residence in Lixwm. Conveyancing solicitor has phoned to say the title is "Leasehold". Does this adversely affect the marketability of the property?

Lixwm conveyancing does not ordinarily involve leasehold houses. The crucial consideration here is the length of lease and the ground rent. If it's 999 years with a nominal rent, it's virtually freehold, so it shouldn't impact the value significantly.

At the other extreme, if it's, say, fifty five years it will have a material impact on the value, and probably wouldn't be acceptable to the lender. The remaining lease term and ground rent will be stated in the lease provided to your lawyer.