My husband and I are looking to acquire a property in Scarborough and have instructed a Scarborough conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Accord Mortgages Ltd have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Scarborough lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Scarborough solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

I am buying a new build house in Scarborough with the aid of help to buy. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not inform my lawyer about this deal as it would put at risk my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one near me in Scarborough I like with amenity areas and station nearby, the downside is that it's only got 51 years on the lease. There is not much else in Scarborough suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

If you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.

I need to find a conveyancing solicitor for leasehold conveyancing in Scarborough. I happened to chance upon a web site which seems to have the perfect solution If it is possible to get all formalities completed via web that would be preferable. Should I be concerned? What are the potential pitfalls?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?

All being well we will complete our sale of a £200,000 maisonette in Scarborough in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Scarborough?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Scarborough conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries Where consent is required before sale in Scarborough Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Scarborough leasehold property is £350. For Scarborough conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply the information.

I inherited a 2 bed flat in Scarborough, conveyancing formalities finalised 10 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Scarborough with over 90 years remaining are worth £190,000. The ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2086

With just 61 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £19,000 and £22,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.