When it comes to mortgage companies such as Aldermore, do Victoria Park property lawyers incur a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are unaware of any bank fees to register on their panel, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

My fiancee and I are at the point of looking at apartments in Victoria Park and I am about to put in an offer. Is it advisable to have a lawyer on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a home loan with Principality.

You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the selling agent. As you are getting a mortgage with Principality, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Principality conveyancing panel.

I've read lots of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Victoria Park solicitor - who is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?

Nationwide will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Nationwide will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Victoria Park surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

I have todaybeen informed that Action Conveyancing have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Victoria Park for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 12 months ago. How can I establish that the property is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest method to see if the premises 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 Victoria Park conveyancing specialists.

I'm buying a new build house in Victoria Park with the aid of help to buy. The developers would not budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The property agent suggested that I not reveal to my lawyer about the side-deal as it may affect my loan with Lloyds TSB 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 recently realised that I have 68 years remaining on my lease in Victoria Park. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Victoria Park.

I acquired a ground floor flat in Victoria Park, conveyancing having been completed in 2009. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Victoria Park with over 90 years remaining are worth £206,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2091

With only 66 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £11,400 and £13,200 plus legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Should I stop the direct debit for my mortgage with Aldermore as soon as a completion date for my home sale in Victoria Park has been agreed?

You are best advised to continue paying any mortgage sums to Aldermore pending the mortgage being redeemed from the proceeds of sale as part of your Victoria Park conveyancing.