We are purchasing a end of terrace house in Keynsham. We would like to carry out an extension to the side at the property.Will the conveyancing process involve investigations to determine if these works are allowed?

Your property lawyer will review the registered title as conveyancing in Keynsham can on occasion identify restrictions in the title deeds which prevent certain alterations or require the consent of a 3rd party. Certain additions require local authority planning permissions and approval in compliance with building regulations. Some areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or affect extensions. You should check these things with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.

We are getting a further advance on our home loan from Santander as we wish to conduct renovations to our home in Keynsham. Are we obliged to appoint a high street Keynsham solicitor on the Santander conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?

Santander would not normally instruct firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Santander list.

RBS have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a apartment in Keynsham has been agreed to, what are the next steps?

Your estate agent will need to be informed of your conveyancing practitioner's details (ensure that the conveyancing practitioners are on the lender’s panel). Telephone RBS or your broker and finalise any appropriate forms. RBS will instruct a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or seller to schedule a time for the valuation to take place. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about a week to get a mortgage offer. RBS will issue the offer to you and your property lawyers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Keynsham.

My partner and I are intent on selling our home in Keynsham and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. Any local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers are using a nationwide conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Keynsham. Having lived in Keynsham for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to get clarification that the buyers are looking for.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm already. What do they say? You should enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same sickness)

The deeds to my property are lost. The conveyancers who did the conveyancing in Keynsham 4 years ago no longer exist. Will I be able to sell the house?

In today’s world there are duplicates made of almost everything, and your conveyancer should be aware exactly where to find all the suitable paperwork so you may purchase or dispose of your property without any difficulty. Where duplicates are not available, your lawyer may be able to put in place insurance or indemnities against future claims on your property.

I am purchasing my first flat in Keynsham with the aid of help to buy. The builders would not reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not reveal to my solicitor about this deal as it could put at risk my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.

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.

I decided to have a survey carried out on a house in Keynsham prior to appointing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. The surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will not grant a loan on a flying freehold property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you e-mail us we can look into this further via the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Keynsham. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Keynsham to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.