I am one month into the sale of my ground floor flat in West Hendon and the estate agent has just text me to warn that the buyers are swapping conveyancer. The reason given is that the lender will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in West Hendon ?

Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.

Banks blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

What can a local search reveal about the property my wife and I purchasing in West Hendon?

West Hendon conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for example Searchflow The local search plays a central role in most West Hendon conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search will provide data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject headings.

I am purchasing a new build house in West Hendon benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent suggested that I not inform my conveyancer about this extras as it may put at risk my loan with Godiva Mortgages Ltd. Is this normal?.

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.

My husband and I are four weeks into a residential purchase having been recommend to conveyancers by the estate agent to do our conveyancing in West Hendon. We are not happy. Could you help me find new lawyers?

They would have to be very bad to suggest changing them. Has the mortgage offer been sent? In the event that it has you need to make them aware of the new contact details and get the loan are re-issued. The solicitor ideally should be on the mortgage company approved list to avoid added fees and delays. That should be your starting point. The search tool can assist you in finding a bank approved lawyer for your home move in West Hendon

My wife and I may need to sub-let our West Hendon 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a West Hendon conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in West Hendon do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

Following years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in West Hendon. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a West Hendon flat is First Floor Flat 61 Wilberforce Road in March 2014. The premium payable was £10,130 and the case was remitted back to the Willesden County Court to effect the Vesting Order (Claim No 3W103100). This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 71 years.