My wife and I have arranged the release of further monies on our mortgage from TSB as we wish to carry out a loft conversion to our home in Bramford. Are we obliged to choose a nearby Bramford solicitor on the TSB conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

TSB do not ordinarily instruct firms on their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the TSB panel.

I currently have a mortgage with Nottingham for my property in Bramford. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months 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 Nottingham?

Nottingham must be informed of your intention before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Nottingham’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent 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 Nottingham directly. You need not do this via a Nottingham conveyancing panel lawyer.

It is unclear whether my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my Bramford bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they would lend. My Bramford conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called to say that they refuse to lend based on their specific requirements. I simply don't know who is right.

The solicitor has to comply with the CML Handbook Part 2 requirements for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

The deeds to our home are lost. The conveyancers who dealt with the conveyancing in Bramford 10 years ago are no longer around. Will I be able to sell the house?

These day there are copies made of almost everything, and your lawyer should know exactly where to look for all the suitable documentation so you may buy or sell your house without any difficulty. If duplicates can’t be found, your conveyancer may be able to put in place insurance or indemnities protecting you against possible claims on your property.

I'm buying my first flat in Bramford with the aid of help to buy. The builders would not reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The estate agent advised me not inform my conveyancer about this side-deal as it may 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.

I am looking for a conveyancing practitioner in Bramford for my remortgage. Is it possible to see a firm’s record with the profession’s regulator?

Anyone can search for presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors history, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. International callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes recorded telephone calls for training reasons.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Bramford where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Bramford conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

I purchased a 1 bedroom flat in Bramford, conveyancing was carried out December 2007. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Bramford with an extended lease are worth £260,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2099

With only 74 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.