I am looking to buy a house and require a conveyancing solicitor in Snodland who is on the The Mortgage Works solicitor. Can you recommend a local conveyancing firm?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for The Mortgage Works in certain locations such as Snodland. We dont recommend any particular firm.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Snodland benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The estate agent advised me not disclose to my solicitor about this side-deal as it may impact my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.

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 have been on the look out for a flat up to £235,500 and found one near me in Snodland I like with a park and station nearby, the downside is that it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Snodland for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?

If you require a mortgage that many years may be problematic. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.

I have been recommended by a couple of local selling agents in Snodland to select a conveyancer on your site. What’s the financial inducement for Estate Agents to promote your site rather than a competitor’s?

We don’t give any financial incentive for directing people to this site. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.

Should I stop my mortgage payments with Clydesdale as soon as a completion date for my sale in Snodland has been set?

No, you must keep paying any mortgage sums to Clydesdale pending the mortgage being redeemed on completion as part of your Snodland conveyancing.