My wife and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Market Rasen and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers used a factory type conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Market Rasen. We have lived in Market Rasen for many years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to obtain clarification that there is no issue.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. What do they say? You must check with 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)

Me and my brother have a terraced Edwardian property in Market Rasen. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Santander. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same property. Is it worth asking Santander to clarify?

You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Market Rasen and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the work.

I am buying my first flat in Market Rasen with a mortgage from Bank of Scotland. The builders would not move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not inform my solicitor about this side-deal as it would impact my mortgage with Bank of Scotland. 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.

I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Market Rasen I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Market Rasen for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be problematic. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.

I’m about to sell my basement flat in Market Rasen. Conveyancing has not commenced, but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the maintenance contribution as normal given that all ground rent and service charges should be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Market Rasen, conveyancing having been completed in 2007. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding properties in Market Rasen with a long lease are worth £260,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2100

You have 75 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.