We are hoping to purchase a 2 bedroom flat in Welling with a mortgage. We wish to retain our Welling solicitor, however the mortgage company advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the bank panel firms or retain our Welling solicitor and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. This seems very unfair; are we not able to insist that the lender use our Welling solicitor ?

Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Welling conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

What will a local search reveal regarding the house I am buying in Welling?

Welling conveyancing often starts with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company such as Onsearch The local search is essential in every Welling conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any nasty surprises after you move into your new home. The search will supply data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic headings.

I am purchasing my first flat in Welling benefiting from help to buy. The developers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent told me not inform my lawyer about this deal as it may impact my loan with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

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.

Am I best advised to use a Welling conveyancing practitioner in close proximity to the house I am hoping to buy? An old friend can conduct the conveyancing however his firm is located 400miles away.

The primary upside of using a high street Welling conveyancing firm is that you can visit the firm to execute paperwork, hand in your ID and apply pressure on them if necessary. They will also have local insight which is a bonus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and they were impressed that must outweigh using an unknown Welling conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being local.

Having spent months of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Welling. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Welling property is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case affected 1 flat.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Welling what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Welling is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Barnsley Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.