I have justbecome aware that Wolstenholmes have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Upper Clapton for a purchase of a leasehold flat 10 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 carry out 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 Upper Clapton conveyancing specialists.

i am buying my first flat in Upper Clapton with a loan from . The sellers would not reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent told me not disclose to my solicitor about the side-deal as it would affect my mortgage with . 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.

We're first time buyers - had an offer accepted, yet the property agent told us that the seller will only proceed if we use the agent's preferred lawyers as they need an ‘expedited deal’. Our preferred option is to instruct a local conveyancer with experience of conveyancing in Upper Clapton

It is improbable the sellers are behind this. Should the vendor require ‘a quick sale', turning down a serious purchaser is going to damage their objectives. Speak to the owners direct and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to go, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you intend to instruct your preferred Upper Clapton conveyancing lawyers - not the ones that will earn the estate agent a referral fee or meet his conveyancing thresholds set by head office.