Me and my partner are purchasing a 1 bedroom flat in Cranleigh with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Cranleigh conveyancer, however the mortgage company says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel firms or retain our Cranleigh solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We consider that this is inequitable; can we not demand that the mortgage company use our Cranleigh solicitor ?

No, not really. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Cranleigh conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

Are all Cranleigh Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel?

A selection of lenders now make use of the accreditation scheme as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Santander. I assume I don't need a Cranleigh lawyer on the Santander panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your Santander mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Santander mortgage from the register. Santander, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Santander has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Santander has instructed the Land Registry to do so

At last I have had an offer on a maisonette in Cranleigh agreed to, the owners do however have an associated purchase. The sellers have offered on a flat, however it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other apartments in the pipeline. I have chosen a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Cranleigh. What should be my next step? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with Coventry BS?

It is usual to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs too early (mortgage application is in the region of one thousand pounds, then valuation, Cranleigh conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you must check that your solicitor is on the Coventry BS approved list. Concerning the subsequent stages this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your case, motivation for this property and on the state of the market. During a rising market some buyers would apply for a home loan with Coventry BS and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their conveyancing practitioner to proceed with the conveyancing in Cranleigh.

I'm buying a new build house in Cranleigh with the aid of help to buy. The developers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The property agent told me not reveal to my solicitor about the extras as it may impact my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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 have just started marketing my garden apartment in Cranleigh. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, however I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the service charge as normal because all rents and service invoices will be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Cranleigh Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Best to be warned whether a new roof is being put on or some other significant cost is due in the near future to be shared between the tenants and could well dramatically increase the the service costs or require a one time payment. Does this lease have in excess of 90 years remaining? Does the lease include onerous restrictions?

Developers have suggested I use a conveyancer and I've obtained a quote from them. They are nearly three hundred pounds cheaper than my local Cranleigh solicitor. Should I use them?

Developers frequently have lists of conveyancers who are quick and who know the seller’s contract and property lawyer. Plenty of developers offer an inducement to use a preferred property lawyer for this reason, any increased fees can be avoided and a builder won't suggest a conveyancing warehouse and run the risk of having the transaction stall when they demand an exchange in 28 days. A counter-argument for not opting for the recommended solicitor is that they may be unwilling to 'push' your interests at the risk of alienating the housebuilder. If you worry that this may be the case you should keep with your local Cranleigh property lawyer.