A colleague informed me that in buying a property in Newmarket there could be various restrictions as to what one can do in terms of external changes to the property. Is this right?

We are aware of a number of properties in Newmarket which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Newmarket should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

Planning on purchasing a house in Newmarket. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Barclays conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Newmarket conveyancing practitioner is on the Barclays conveyancing panel.

My offer was accepted on a house in Newmarket on 5/9/2025, valuation was booked 3 days later, all came back fine. Solicitor retained, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to UBS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the UBS conveyancing panel. Are UBS entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for UBS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the UBS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

We are planning on selling our house in Newmarket and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. A local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers are using a national conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Newmarket. Having lived in Newmarket for many years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to seek confirmation that there is no issue.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You need to 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 life insurance to cover that same illness)

I am purchasing my first flat in Newmarket with the aid of help to buy. The developers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The property agent suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about the extras as it may put at risk my loan with Nationwide Building Society. 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.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Newmarket is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Newmarket are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Newmarket you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Newmarket may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.

I was recommended by two or three local estate agents in Newmarket to select a property lawyer on your site. Is there a financial incentive for Estate Agents to recommend your lawyers ahead of alternative conveyancing organisations?

We don’t make any financial incentive for directing people in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand a fee because members of the public would think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.