I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Shepperton off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Nationwide. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Nationwide, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Nationwide conveyancing panel.

I currently have a mortgage with Lloyds for my property in Shepperton. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Lloyds?

Your original mortgage agreement with Lloyds will provide that you need their approval before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Lloyds’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Lloyds directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Lloyds conveyancing panel firm.

I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Shepperton. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an on account payment of £175. A couple of days later, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me to say that they were not on the Skipton 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 Skipton 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.

I'm buying my first flat in Shepperton with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not to tell my conveyancer about this side-deal as it could jeopardize 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.

I am looking for a flat up to £235,500 and identified one close by in Shepperton I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Shepperton for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?

Should you require a home loan that many years will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you may request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.

How does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my commercial property in Shepperton and how can your lawyers assist?

The particular law that you refer to affords security of tenure to commercial tenants, giving them the dueness to apply to court for a renewal lease and continue in occupation when the lease comes to an end. There are certain specified grounds where a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are complex. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Shepperton is one of the many locations in which the firms we work with have offices

In my capacity as executor for the estate of my aunt I am selling a property in Newport but reside in Shepperton. My lawyer (based 235 kilometers from meneeds me to execute a stat dec before the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing lawyer in Shepperton to witness and place their company stamp on the document?

Technically speaking you are unlikely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are Shepperton based