My flat in Mile End is up for sale and I have accepted an offer. Does the need to be on the conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently at the moment.

I require expedited conveyancing in Mile End as I am under an ultimatum to exchange contracts inside one month. Fortunately I do not need a mortgage. Is it possible to escape the need for conveyancing searches to save money and time?

As you are not obtaining a mortgage you are at liberty not to do searches although no lawyer would recommend that you don't. Drawing on years of experience of conveyancing in Mile End the following are examples of what can crop up and adversely affect future mortgageability: Refused Planning Applications, Outstanding Fees, Overdue Grants, Railway Schemes,...

I'm buying my first flat in Mile End benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent told me not to tell my conveyancer about the deal as it could put at risk my mortgage with the 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 been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one close by in Mile End I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 52 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Mile End in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.

I have been advised by a number of estate agents in Mile End to get a quote from a conveyancer on your site. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to offer your services rather than alternative conveyancing organisations?

We refuse to offer any financial incentive for sending work to this site. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission as a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.