Me and my partner are buying a 1 bedroom apartment in Poynton with a mortgage. We have a Poynton lawyer, but the lender says she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have no choice but to use one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or retain our Poynton property lawyer as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. We consider that this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. 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 Poynton conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

When does exchange of contracts occur in sale conveyancing in Poynton and do I need to be at the conveyancers branch?

Where you are near to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Poynton you are welcome to attend to sign the paperwork. However, the lender approved solicitors we work with supply countrywide coverage for conveyancing and provide as equally detailed and professional a job for you when dealing with you electronically. The signing of the property agreement is not when everything is set in stone. A signed contract simply enables the conveyancer to exchange contracts when the time is right, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The exchange process is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where a long "chain" is in the mix, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Poynton)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.

I'm buying my first flat in Poynton with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent advised me not disclose to my conveyancer about this deal as it will affect my loan with the lender. 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 recommended by numerous estate agents in Poynton to locate a property lawyer using your seach tool. What’s the financial upside for Estate Agents to promote your services over and above a competitor’s?

We don’t give any referral fee for sending work to this site. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Poynton both have about fifty years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Poynton is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Poynton conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I invested in buying a leasehold flat in Poynton, conveyancing having been completed in 2012. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Poynton with over 90 years remaining are worth £181,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2075

With just 50 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £31,400 and £36,200 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.