I was notified yesterday by my mortgage broker that my Cheshire the law firm I have appointed is not on the bank Solicitor panel. How can I be certain whether this is indeed the case?

The first thing you need to do is to call your Cheshire conveyancer. You lawyer should advise you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they may be able to suggest a Cheshire conveyancing firm that is on the conveyancing panel for your lender.

I require conveyancing for an apartment in a relatively new development (seven years built) in Cheshire. Almost all the appartments are already sold. Do I need carry out the local searches for my conveyancing in Cheshire?

You are opening yourself up to an unnecessary risk in not carrying out Cheshire conveyancing searches. Without searches you have no clarity over flooding, environmental etc which may mean you walk away due to potential problems down the line. If you are buying without a mortgage there is no legal necessity to have them, but we would strongly advise in the strongest possible terms that you have them. If speed and driving down costs are top of your concerns you should consider with your conveyancer about the options such as indemnity insurance available to you

I am purchasing my first flat in Cheshire with a mortgage from . The sellers would not move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The house builders rep told me not inform my conveyancer about the extras as it may affect my loan with . 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.

Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Cheshire before instructing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may refuse to issue a mortgage on a flying freehold property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Cheshire. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Cheshire. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Cheshire are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Cheshire in which case you should be shopping around for a Cheshire conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Cheshire, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Cheshire with an extended lease are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 50

With only 50 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £36,100 and £41,800 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 extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.