A colleague suggested that if I am purchasing in Hamworthy I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Hamworthy conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Hamworthy 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 House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Hamworthy.

The deeds to our house can not be found. The conveyancers who conducted the conveyancing in Hamworthy 4 years ago no longer exist. What are my options?

You no longer need to have the physical official documentation to evidence that you are the owner of your registered land or property, as the Land Registry have everything they need in a digital format.

I'm buying a new build house in Hamworthy with a mortgage from Yorkshire Building Society. The sellers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The sale representative advised me not to tell my solicitor about this deal as it may put at risk my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

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 am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Hamworthy. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Hamworthy - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Hamworthy - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the tenants enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is frequently retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. On the whole the cost for major works are not included within maintenance charges, although some managing agents in Hamworthy require leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. Plenty Hamworthy leasehold flats will incur a service bill for maintenance of the block set by the freeholder. Where you acquire the flat you will have to pay this amount, normally in instalments accross the year. This can vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a large figure, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds.

Are there any distinct benefits to using a high street property lawyer in Hamworthy

Many buyers and sellers in Hamworthy prefer a nearby high street solicitor so that they can visit if they have concerns, and to sign mortgage deeds rather than relying on the Royal Mail.

One could allege that there is a slight advantage when selecting a solicitor nearby to a premises you are buying, due to the familiarity of the region and potential local issues - but this is debatable. Most conveyancers are now via the web and could be almost anywhere.