My partner and I have arranged the release of further monies on our mortgage from TSB as we wish to carry out renovations to our house in East Twickenham. Do we need to choose a bricks and mortar East Twickenham solicitor on the TSB conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?

TSB would not normally require a member of their approved list of lawyers 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 have a mortgage with Coventry BS for my property in East Twickenham. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Coventry BS?

Your original mortgage agreement with Coventry BS will provide that you need their approval in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Coventry BS’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 Coventry BS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Coventry BS conveyancing panel lawyer.

I have finally had an offer on a maisonette in East Twickenham accepted, the sellers do nevertheless have a connected purchase. The owners have offered on on an apartment, but it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties booked. I have chosen a high street conveyancing solicitor in East Twickenham. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage application with HSBC started?

It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket prematurely (mortgage application is approx £1k, then valuation, East Twickenham conveyancing search charges, etc). The first thing to do is ensure that your solicitor is on the HSBC approved list. As to the subsequent phase this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your case, desire for the property and on the state of the market. During a rising market the majority of buyers will apply for a home loan with HSBC and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their conveyancer to press on with searches.

It has been four months following my purchase conveyancing in East Twickenham took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

I decided to have a survey completed on a house in East Twickenham before retaining solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. Our surveyor advised that some lenders will not grant a loan on such a house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements for example to Nationwide. If you call us we can check with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in East Twickenham. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in East Twickenham to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a East Twickenham conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a East Twickenham conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non East Twickenham conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions might be useful:

If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

Following years of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in East Twickenham. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a East Twickenham premises is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 60.45 years.

Me and my husband accepted an offer on a East Twickenham apartment left to us ten years ago in 2012. I have over a decades worth of conveyancing knowledge and, now retired, intend to do the legal work. The purchaser's conveyancer has informed me that their building society will not allow you to do your own conveyancing mandating that the funds to be sent to a solicitor's bank account.

Mortgage instructions to property lawyers from all mainstream lenders state that If the vendor is not legally represented the buyer’s lawyers should check whether the lender needs to be informed so that a decision can be reached as to whether or not they are prepared to proceed.