I am progressing with the sale of my house in Darwen and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the purchasers are changing their law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that the bank will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major mortgage company only work with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Darwen ?

UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for over 25 years.

Banks blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some 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 impact on this.

When will exchange of contracts happen for purchase conveyancing in Darwen and am I required to be at the conveyancers branch?

If you are in close proximity to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Darwen you are welcome to come in to sign the paperwork. However, the lender approved solicitors we work with offer countrywide coverage for conveyancing and provide just as detailed and professional a job for you when communicating with you digitally. The executing of the property agreement is not the critical part. Signing on the dotted line simply enables the solicitor to exchange contracts when the time is right, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The procedure is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where an extended "chain" is in the mix, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Darwen)to be in the office at the appropriate time.

I am buying a new build house in Darwen with a mortgage from Bank of Scotland. The developers would not move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about the deal as it will impact my mortgage with the lender. 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.

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Darwen. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Darwen - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Darwen, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Equivalent properties in Darwen with an extended lease are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2093

With 68 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should 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.

Online research suggests that Darwen solicitors are more costly than licensed conveyancers in Darwen to use when buying a house. Am I better off using a conveyancer or a solicitor if I am purchasing a house in Darwen.

When it comes to conveyancing in Darwen the costs are unlikely to vary dramatically depending on whether the legal expert is a licenced conveyancer or solicitor.