I am in the process of selling my house in Wimbledon and the EA has just telephoned to say that the purchasers are switching conveyancer. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named mortgage company only work with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Wimbledon ?

Banks have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.

Lenders blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices 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. The buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

A colleague suggested that if I am buying in Wimbledon I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is sometimes included in the estimate for your Wimbledon conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Wimbledon around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Wimbledon Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Wimbledon.

I have todaybecome aware that Stirling Law have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Wimbledon for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 10 months ago. How can I establish that the property is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest way to see if the property is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Wimbledon conveyancing specialists.

I am purchasing a new build house in Wimbledon with a loan from Platform Home Loans Ltd. The developers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative told me not inform my conveyancer about this side-deal as it could affect my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Wimbledon conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Wimbledon conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Wimbledon conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions could be helpful:

What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

Following months of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Wimbledon. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to assess the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Wimbledon flat is 629 Garratt Lane in September 2014. The consideration payable for the acquisition of the freehold of the subject property was the sum £21,302.74. This represented a valuation of the freehold in the sum of £23,864 from which the sum of £2561.27 has been deducted in respect of certain costs in repairing and insuring the premises This case was in relation to 3 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 72.94 years.