We are planning to buy a 3 bedroom apartment in New Addington with a mortgage. We like our New Addington solicitor, but the mortgage company advise she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have no choice but to use one of the bank panel solicitors or continue with our New Addington and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. This feels very unfair; are we not able to demand that the lender use our New Addington ?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose 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. A further alternative is for your New Addington conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

I'm buying my first flat in New Addington with a loan from . The developers would not move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The estate agent suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about this side-deal as it would jeopardize 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.

Are there any apps to assist me to identify a New Addington law firm on the conveyancing panel? I drive a motor bike and am prepared to travel upto 10miles to meet the solicitor.

Feel free to make use of the tool on this page. Please select a mortgage company and your location and you will see a number of New Addington conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have listed some New Addington conveyancing firms towards the end of this page and you can call them to see whether they are on the approved list

My husband and I are novice buyers - agreed a price, yet the estate agent advised that the vendor will only go ahead if we appoint the agent's chosen solicitors as they want a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a high street solicitor with experience of conveyancing in New Addington

We suspect that the owner is not behind this demand. If they desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a motivated purchaser is counter productive. Speak to the owners direct and explain that (a)you are motivated buyers (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you intend to appoint your preferred New Addington conveyancing firm - not the ones that will give the negotiator at the agency a kickback or hit his conveyancing figures set by head office.

I only have Seventy years unexpired on my lease in New Addington. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering New Addington.

I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in New Addington, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. 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? Similar flats in New Addington with over 90 years remaining are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 50

With only 50 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.