My wife and I are purchasing a newly constructed duplex in Esher and my lawyer is informing me that she has to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the seller. I am under pressure to exchange and my preference is not to delay the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

My wife and I are buying a property in Esher. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? On the day of competition we have to put funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

We were going to get a AIP from Yorkshire BS this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Yorkshire BS recommend any Esher solicitors on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?

You will need to appoint Esher solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Yorkshire BS through the process.

My offer was accepted on a house in Esher on 30/6/2025, valuation was booked five days later, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Barclays and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?

A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Barclays to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Barclays conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

Will our conveyancer be making enquiries regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Esher.

Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors specialising in conveyancing in Esher. Plenty of people will acquire a house in Esher, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.

Solicitors are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that can be carried out by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which should give them a better understanding of the risks in Esher. The standard information given to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a usual question of the vendor to find out if the premises has historically flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not disclosed by the seller, then a purchaser may commence a legal claim for losses resulting from an incorrect answer. A purchaser’s conveyancers may also carry out an enviro search. This should reveal whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries will need to be made.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Esher both have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorates and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field.

I am the leaseholder of a a ground floor purpose built flat in Esher. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for a lease extension?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Esher conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Esher property is Flat D 15 Claremont Gardens in September 2013. TheTribunal determined in accordance with section48 and Schedule13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty seven pounds (£14,187.00) This case affected 1 flat.

I need to assess estimates for conveyancing in Esher from numerous conveyancer and appoint one. Do I instruct them to hold tight until I I have my bid accepted on a house.

You should wait to request your solicitor to start work and submit searches after the offer has been accepted on the property especially as Esher conveyancing searches are costly.