My wife and I are looking to acquire a property in Patcham and are in fact using a Patcham conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Coventry Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Patcham solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Patcham lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Patcham with a mortgage from Platform Home Loans Ltd. The developers would not budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent told me not disclose to my solicitor about this side-deal as it may affect my mortgage with the lender. 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.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in last month in what should have been a quick, chain free conveyancing. Patcham is where the house is located. Can you offer any guidance?

Flying freeholds in Patcham are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Patcham you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Patcham 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.

Am I right to be suspicious about brokers that I am dealing with are suggesting an online conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Patcham conveyancing firm?

As is the case with many service providers, often referrals from family and friends can be most helpful. Yet there are many players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, mortgage brokers and banks might all recommend conveyancers to instruct. Sometimes these solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but occasionally there is an underlying financial incentive behind the endorsement. You are free to choose your preferred conveyancer. You need to be aware that many banks operate an approved list of law firms you are obliged to use for the mortgage aspect of your conveyancing.

Looking forward to complete next month on a garden flat in Patcham. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Patcham should include some of the following:

Defining your rights in respect of common areas in the block.For example, does the lease include a right of way over a path or hallways? What options are open to you if another leaseholder in the building breaches a clause of their lease? What options are available to the landlord where you breach a clause of your lease? You should have a good understanding of the building insurance provisions

I am the registered owner of a 2 bed flat in Patcham, conveyancing was carried out June 2007. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Patcham with a long lease are worth £201,000. The ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2090

With 65 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.