We are hoping to acquire a 3 bedroom apartment in Mitcham with a mortgage. We like our Mitcham lawyer, however the lender says he's not on their "panel". It seems we have no option but to appoint one of the lender panel conveyancing practices or continue with our Mitcham and pay for one of their panel ones to act for them. We regard this is unjust; are we not able to insist that the lender use our Mitcham ?

Unfortunately,no. 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. Another option that might be available is for your Mitcham conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

We see that you have a post code search directory identifying law firms on the conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I appoint them for our conveyancing in Mitcham?

We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Mitcham.

I have justfound out that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Mitcham for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 10 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest way to check if the property is in your name, you can make 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 Mitcham conveyancing specialists.

Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Mitcham in advance of appointing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. The surveyor advised that some banks may refuse to issue a mortgage on such a premises.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different requirements from Halifax. If you call us we can investigate further via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Mitcham. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Mitcham to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

I invested in buying a garden flat in Mitcham, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Mitcham with a long lease are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 50

With only 50 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £36,100 and £41,800 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 investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.