We are hoping to acquire a 3 bedroom flat in Honiton with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Honiton lawyer, however the bank advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or retain our Honiton conveyancing practitioner as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. We regard this is unjust; can we not require that the mortgage company use our Honiton lawyer ?

No, not really. The mortgage offered to you 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. Another option that might be available is for your Honiton conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

I have todayfound out that Arc property Solicitors have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Honiton for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 18 months ago. How can I establish that the property is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?

The easiest way to see if the property is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Honiton conveyancing specialists.

Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Honiton in advance of appointing conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor has said that some banks may refuse to give a mortgage on a flying freehold house.

It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to 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 Honiton. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Honiton to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Honiton. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, but I have recently had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the service charge as usual because all ground rent and service invoices should be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies 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.

I acquired a garden flat in Honiton, conveyancing having been completed December 2002. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding properties in Honiton with an extended lease are worth £197,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2080

With 55 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

We are contemplating choosing an online solicitor as opposed to a Honiton conveyancing practice. Am I making a mistake?

Advantages do exist in having the option attend a local Honiton conveyancing solicitor for instance

• signing papers same day
• getting face-to-face explanations of issues that need explaining
• the ability to raise concerns if things are not going as expected

When comparing fees, look out for hidden extras. Most decent Honiton high street solicitors give an all-inclusive figure. Often online agents seem to offer cheap prices, yet have hidden 'extras' in the small print.