I am not well enough to travel far from The Hale. Is there a reason why all The Hale lawyers are not on all lender panels?

Lenders point to the fact that solicitor-led fraud is thought to be responsible for millions of pounds of fraud every year.The elimination of law firms from lender panels started with the rise in mortgage fraud, which prompted a thematic review by the Financial Services Authority in 2011. Its conclusions included recommendations for lenders to review their conveyancing panels, which triggered a major policy change in the sector. This resulted in banks and building societies removing a number of firms off their books of approved conveyancing practitioners .

I am buying a newly constructed flat in The Hale and my conveyancer is advising me that she has to the bank to reveal incentives from the builder. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange contracts and I have no desire to delay deal. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

My brother-in-law has suggested I instruct a conveyancing solicitor in The Hale. I I am struggling to find out if they are on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Can you advise?

You should contact the solicitor and ask them if they are on the lender panel. Alternatively you can get in touch with Aldermore who may be able to assist.

I'm purchasing a new build house in The Hale with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The estate agent told me not inform my solicitor about the deal as it could affect my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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 the registered owner of a ground floor flat in The Hale. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for a lease extension?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a The Hale conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a The Hale property is 20 Orchard Court Stonegrove in June 2009. The tribunal decided that a premium of £11,040 should be payable for the new lease This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 71.55 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in The Hale what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in The Hale. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts. A duty to insure the building

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Chelsea Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.