I am one month into the sale of my ground floor flat in West Ham and the estate agent has just e-mailed to advise that the purchasers are appointing a new property lawyer. The excuse is that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major mortgage company only work with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in West Ham ?

Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.

Banks justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.

We are acquiring our first property. The has calledto check if we would like to purchase supplemental conveyancing searches. Frankly we have no idea as to what's appropriate for conveyancing in West Ham

The number and type of West Ham conveyancing searches depends entirely on the property, the location, the probability of any of these risks, your knowledge of the region and risks, your overall appetite to risk. What is important is that you adequately appreciate what information the searches could supply. Then you can decide if you personally think you need that information. Where you are unsure, ask your to provide guidance.

I require expedited conveyancing in West Ham as I am faced with a deadline to sign on the dotted line in less than one month. Fortunately I do not need a mortgage. Is it possible to avoid the conveyancing searches to save money and time?

As you are are a cash buyer you are at liberty not to do searches although no law firm would recommend that you don't. With lots of history conveyancing in West Ham the following are instances of what can appear and therefore impact future mortgageability: Refused Planning Applications, Outstanding Fees, Overdue Grants, Road Schemes,...

I'm purchasing my first flat in West Ham with a mortgage from . The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The property agent told me not to tell my solicitor about the extras as it may affect my loan 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.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in West Ham, conveyancing was carried out 3 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable properties in West Ham with over 90 years remaining are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 50

With only 50 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.