My wife and I are acquiring a brand new duplex in South West London and my lawyer is informing me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the developer. I am on a tight deadline to exchange contracts and I would rather not prolong the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your . A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

2 months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in South West London completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £215,000. 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 property 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.

Do I need to be wary that brokers that I am dealing with are recommending an internet conveyancing firm rather than a High Street South West London conveyancing firm?

As with lots of professional services, often recommendations from relatives can be worth their weight in gold. But there are lots of players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, mortgage brokers and banks might all suggest solicitors to choose. On occasion these lawyers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there is an underlying financial incentive behind the recommendation. You are free to appoint your preferred conveyancer. You need to be aware that most lenders have an approved list of lawyers you have to use for the lender related work in your conveyancing.

I need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor for purchase conveyancing in South West London. I have land on a web site which looks to be the ideal solution If it is possible to get all the legals done via web that would be ideal. Do I need to be wary? 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?

I own a leasehold flat in South West London. Conveyancing and mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in South West London who acted for me is not around. Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a South West London conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I own a basement flat in South West London, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in South West London with over 90 years remaining are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 50

With just 50 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do 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 take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.