I'm purchasing a new build house in Cippenham with the aid of help to buy. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent advised me not reveal to my conveyancer about this side-deal as it could affect my loan with the lender. 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.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Cippenham is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Cippenham are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Cippenham you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Cippenham may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.

Taking into account that I will soon part with 450k on a house in Cippenham I wish to talk to a solicitor concerning thetransaction ahead of instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

This is something that we encourage - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the solicitor who will be doing your conveyancing in Cippenham.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is an important individual, not a matter number. The practices that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are calculated and presented to you for your conveyancing in Cippenham should be the figure that you are charged.

Am I better off to appoint a Cippenham conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am buying? I have an old university friend who can carry out the legal work however her office is a couple of hundredmiles away.

The benefit of a local Cippenham conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to sign paperwork, present your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local insight which is a bonus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have instructed your friend and they were happy that must surpass using an unknown Cippenham conveyancing solicitor just because they are based in the area.

To what extent are Cippenham conveyancing solicitors duty bound by the Law Society to supply clear conveyancing figures?

Inbuilt into the Solicitors Code of Conduct are specific rules and regulations as to how the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) allow solicitors to publicise their charges to clients.The Law Society have practice note giving advice on how to publicise transparent charges to avoid breaching any such rule. Practice notes are not legal advice issued by the Law Society and is not intended as the only standard of good practice a conveyancing solicitor should adhere to. The Practice Note does, however, represent the Law Society’s perspective of acceptable practice for publicising conveyancing charges, and accordingly it’s a recommended read for any solicitor or conveyancer in Cippenham or or elsewhere in the country.