My husband and I are buying a new build flat in Devon and my conveyancer is informing me that she has to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the builder. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange and I have no desire to delay deal. 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 lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

About to purchase a new build apartment in Devon. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Devon

Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal.

I decided to have a survey completed on a property in Devon in advance of appointing conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may not give a mortgage on this type of property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Devon. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Devon to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

My partner has recommend that I use his lawyers for conveyancing in Devon. Should I use them?

There are no two ways about it the ideal way to choose a conveyancing solicitor is to seek recommendations from friends or relatives who have previously instructed the firm that you are are thinking of instructing.

Frank (my husband) and I may need to let out our Devon 1st floor flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Devon conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Devon do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Devon, conveyancing was carried out November 2012. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Devon with a long lease are worth £181,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2074

With just 50 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.