I have just been advised by my mortgage broker that my Malden lawyer is not on the mortgage company Conveyancing panel. What can I do to be sure whether this is correct?

The sensible course of action for you to take is to call your Malden lawyer directly. You lawyer should advise you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the approved list of lawyers for your mortgage company.

I am helping my mother sell her flat in Malden. Will the conveyancer commission the energy performance certificate or should I organise this?

Following the demise of HIPs, EPC’s remained a mandatory part of moving property. An EPC must be commissioned prior to the property being advertised. It is not something that solicitors normally organise. Where you are using a Malden conveyancing solicitor they might be willing to arrange energy assessments due to their contacts with long established Malden providers

I just acquired a house at auction in Malden. Conveyancing is required. What are my next steps?

Now that you have legally bound yourself to purchase you now have to choose a conveyancing lawyer soon as you will have a fast approaching a fixed date to complete the conveyancing. Every auction property will have an associated legal set of papers. This should include evidence of title and search results. If you have purchased leasehold premises the conveyancing papers should include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing documentation specific to a leasehold property. You should pass this on to your appointed conveyancing solicitor at the earliest opportunity. Do make sure that your finances are in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

I had an offer accepted on a property in Malden on 22/10/2025, valuation was booked five days later, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Santander and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel. Are Santander entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Santander to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Santander conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I'm buying a new build house in Malden with a loan from Yorkshire Building Society. The developers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The property agent advised me not disclose to my solicitor about this extras as it may impact my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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 £195,000 and identified one near me in Malden I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, however it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Malden for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.

I'm purchasing a flat in Malden. I have found my conveyancer's company on the Law Society's list, but I can't find my lawyer's name as listed on the regulator's website. Is this a big problem?

Not all staff in the law firm must be listed by the regulator. Provided there is someone qualified to 'oversee' the work, the actual day-to-day activity can be conducted by unqualified staff.