I require conveyancing for a flat in a fairly new development (five years old) in New Mills. The vast majority the appartments have already been occupied. Is it strictly necessary to order local searches as part of conveyancing in New Mills?

You are opening yourself up to an unnecessary risk in not carrying out New Mills conveyancing searches. Without searches you have no clarity over flooding, environmental etc which may mean you walk away due to potential problems down the line. If you are buying without a mortgage there is no legal necessity to have them, but we would strongly advise in no uncertain terms that your lawyer conducts them. If time pressures and cost are top of your issues you should discuss with your conveyancer about the viability of search insurance

When will exchange of contracts take place for domestic conveyancing in New Mills and do I need to attend the conveyancers branch?

Where you are local to our conveyancing solicitors in New Mills you are welcome to attend to sign documents. That being said, the lender approved solicitors we recommend provide a national conveyancing service and provide as equally comprehensive and professional a job for you when communicating with you by post or email. The signing of the contract is not the point of no return. A signed contract is just a prerequisite for the conveyancer to exchange contracts at the appropriate time, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The exchange process is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where a long "chain" is in the mix, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in New Mills)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.

I am purchasing a new build house in New Mills with the aid of help to buy. The builders refused to budge the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent told me not reveal to my conveyancer about this deal as it would adversely affect my mortgage with Alliance & Leicester . Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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 opted to have a survey carried out on a house in New Mills ahead of retaining conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. The surveyor advised that some lenders will not issue a mortgage on such a premises.

It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions for example to Nationwide. If you contact us we can check with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in New Mills. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in New Mills to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in New Mills from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in New Mills can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a New Mills conveyancing transaction. Where a new share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing. The majority of freeholders or managing agents in New Mills levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in New Mills.

I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in New Mills, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in New Mills with an extended lease are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2102

With only 77 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £7,600 and £8,800 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.