I am buying my first flat in Oxford with a mortgage from Lloyds TSB Bank. The developers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The estate agent told me not inform my lawyer about this deal as it may affect my mortgage with Lloyds TSB Bank. 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 decided to have a survey done on a house in Oxford prior to instructing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies will not issue a loan on this type of home.

It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different instructions from Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Oxford. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Oxford to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

Should I be concerned about estate agents that I am dealing with are recommending a national conveyancing firm rather than a local Oxford conveyancing firm?

As with lots of professional services, often referrals from family and friends can be worth their weight in gold. Nevertheless there are numerous parties with a vested interest in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, financial adviser and lenders may put forward lawyers to select. On occasion the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there is an underlying financial incentive behind the recommendation. You have the discretion to select your own lawyer. Don't forget that many lenders have an approved list of law firms you have to use for the lender aspect of your home move.

Should I instruct a Oxford conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am purchasing? An old friend can conduct the legal work however his firm is located approximately 350kilometers drive away.

The primary upside of using a local Oxford conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to execute paperwork, deliver your ID and pester them if necessary. Having local Oxford know how is a benefit. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If if people you trust instructed your friend and on the whole were happy that should trump using an unknown Oxford conveyancing solicitor just because they are local.

We are in the middle of purchasing a house in Oxford. Conveyancing lawyer has told us the title is "Leasehold". Should this make a difference on the salability of the property?

Oxford conveyancing does not normally involve leasehold houses. The main factor here is the length of lease and the ground rent. If it's 999 years with a peppercorn rent, it's essentially freehold, so it shouldn't impact the marketability too much.

At the other end of the spectrum, if it's, say, 50 years it will have a significant impact on the value, and probably wouldn't be mortgageable. The remaining lease term and ground rent will be stated in the lease which should be made available to your property lawyer.