Me and my husband are buying a maisonette in Wimbledon. My Solicitor is not on the lender solicitor panel. Can I still retain my Wimbledon conveyancing solicitor even though they are excluded from the bank approved list?

You will need to appoint a to complete the formalities if you require a loan to buy your home. The will carry out all the essential investigations on the property, make sure that you will be properly registered as the owner and ensure that all the necessary mortgage documentation is in place. One can appoint a Wimbledon of your choice. Nevertheless, where the appointed is not on the bank solicitor panel additional charges will arise as separate legal representation will be required by them. Bank panel applications can be submitted, so where your solicitor has not historically applied for membership they should take the chance to apply.

We are selling our apartment in Wimbledon. Does my 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 specifications fairly frequently currently.

My colleague recommended that where I am buying in Wimbledon I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Wimbledon conveyancing searches. It is a large report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Wimbledon around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Wimbledon.

I am purchasing my first flat in Wimbledon with the aid of help to buy. The builders would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The estate agent advised me not inform my solicitor about this deal as it would impact my loan 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.

Wimbledon Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

How long is the Lease? Many Wimbledon leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the management company. Where you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, normally periodically throughout the year. This could differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because on occasion it can be prohibitively expensive. Does the lease contain onerous restrictions?