Me and my wife are acquiring our first home. Our lawyer has contact usto check if we would like to purchase supplemental conveyancing searches. Unfortunately we have no idea as to what's necessary for conveyancing in London

The number and type of London conveyancing searches should be dictated primarily on the property, the location, the possibility of any of these risks, your familiarity of the area and risks, your overall approach to risk. What is important is that you properly appreciate what information the searches could give you. Then you can make a decision if you personally think you need that search. If in doubt, ask the conveyancing practitioner to recommend.

2 months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in London took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £180,000. 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 premises 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'm buying a new build house in London with a mortgage from Bank of Ireland. The builders would not budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent suggested that I not inform my conveyancer about the extras as it would jeopardize my loan with the lender. 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 am looking for a conveyancing lawyer in London for my remortgage. Is it possible to see a firm’s record with the legal regulator?

Members of the public can see documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from investigations from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes recorded call for training reasons.

Having spent years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in London. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a London conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a London residence is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 73.26 years.

What makes a London lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in London. All leases are drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.