I require conveyancing for an apartment in a relatively new development (seven years built) in Chatham. 95% of the flats have already been sold. Is it really necessary to order local searches as part of conveyancing in Chatham?

Where you are obtaining a mortgage, your mortgage company will require some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Chatham conveyancing searches are optional. Your solicitor, will ’encourage’, perhaps in the strongest possible terms, that you should have the searches done, but he or she is duty bound in this regard. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you insist that your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or ask you to appoint a different lawyer for your conveyancing in Chatham.

It is is a decade since I acquired my property in Chatham. Conveyancing solicitors have just been retained on the sale but I am unable to locate my deeds. Will this cause complications?

Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be retained by your lender or they could still be with the solicitor who oversaw the purchase. Secondly in most cases the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Chatham involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.

Various web forums that I have come across warn that are the primary cause of hinderance in Chatham house deals. Is that correct?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the top 10 causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to feature in any holding up conveyancing in Chatham.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Chatham with a loan from . The developers refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The property agent told me not inform my solicitor about this deal as it would impact my mortgage with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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.

We are considering using an online as opposed to a Chatham conveyancing practice. Should I ‘stay local’?

There are advantages of having the option attend a local Chatham conveyancing solicitor such as

• signing papers and and when necessary
• getting one on one explanations of matters that you need help with
• the ability to raise concerns if things are not going as expected

When analysing fees, look carefully for hidden extras. The majority decent Chatham high street solicitors give an all-inclusive price. Many online agents seem to offer low cost prices, yet have hidden 'extras' in the small print.