Much to our surprise we have been notified by our mortgage adviser that my Kensington solicitor is not on the mortgage company Conveyancing panel. What can I do to be certain whether this is indeed the case?

Your first step should be to call your Kensington conveyancer. You lawyer should notify you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for your bank.

There are numerous conveyancing solicitors in Kensington but how do I know who's good?

We would encourage you not to go for the cheapest Kensington conveyancing fees. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.

After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Kensington. My mortgage broker suggested a . I paid an on account payment of £150. A couple of days later, the contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in October 2010, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, are being a right pain. The Kensington solicitor who is on the conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Kensington ahead of instructing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor has said that some lenders may not give a loan on such a premises.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Kensington. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Kensington to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

I need to find a conveyancing solicitor for my conveyancing in Kensington. I happened to chance upon a site which looks to be the ideal answer If there is a chance to get all the legals done via email that would be preferable. Should I be concerned? What should out be looking out for?

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?

My husband and I may need to let out our Kensington ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Kensington conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Kensington do not prevent subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

I acquired a garden flat in Kensington, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Kensington with a long lease are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 50

With just 50 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £36,100 and £41,800 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.