We are buying a new build apartment in Clapham and Salph End and my lawyer is telling me that she has to the bank to reveal incentives from the builder. I am on a tight deadline to exchange contracts and I don't want to delay the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

We see that you have a post code search directory identifying firms on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I retain them for our conveyancing in Clapham and Salph End?

We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Nottingham conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Clapham and Salph End.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Clapham and Salph End?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Clapham and Salph End. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I'm buying a new build house in Clapham and Salph End with a mortgage from Nationwide Building Society. The builders would not budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent told me not to tell my lawyer about the extras as it may put at risk my loan with Nationwide Building Society. 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.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one close by in Clapham and Salph End I like with a park and railway links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 51 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Clapham and Salph End suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?

If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.