Me and my fiancee are purchasing our first property. The solicitor has e-mailedto enquire if we wish to order supplemental conveyancing searches. We are really unsure what's needed for conveyancing in Romney

The number and type of Romney conveyancing searches should be dictated entirely on the property, the location, the probability of any of these risks, your familiarity of the locality and risks, your general approach to risk. What matters is that you adequately appreciate what information each search could provide. Then you can decide if you consider that you need that search. Should you be unclear, ask your conveyancing practitioner to recommend.

It has been five months since my purchase conveyancing in Romney concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

I am buying a new build house in Romney with a loan from Yorkshire Building Society. The builders refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not inform my lawyer about this side-deal as it could affect my mortgage with Yorkshire Building Society. Should I keep quiet?.

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.

My step-father has suggested that I use his lawyers for conveyancing in Romney. Should I use them?

No doubt it’s preferable to choose a conveyancing practitioner is to have guidance from friends or family who have previously instructed the firm that you are are thinking of instructing.

Last November I purchased a leasehold house in Romney. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Romney Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

You should be aware if it is less than 80 years it will affect the salability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have been the owner of the residence for two years in order to be eligible to carry out a lease extension. Many Romney leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block levied on behalf of the management company. If you buy the property you will have to pay this charge, usually periodically throughout the year. This can differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, normally this is not a large amount, say about £25-£75 but you need to check as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.