My son-in-law is about to exchange on a newly built flat in Petworth with a mortgage from Yorkshire BS. His conveyancer has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?

The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Petworth? What am I being asked for?

In order to comply with Money Laundering Regulations any Petworth conveyancing firm will require proof of identity in all conveyancing matters. This is usually satisfied by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility account showing where you reside.

Under Money Laundering Regulations, property lawyers are obliged by law to ascertain not only the ID of conveyancing clients but also the source of monies that they receive in respect of any matter. An unwillingness to disclose this may result in your conveyancer cancelling their retainer with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.

Your property lawyers will have an obligation to make a disclosure to the appropriate authorities should they believe that any monies received by them may contravene the Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules.

Will my conveyancer be raising enquiries regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Petworth.

Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers dealing with homes in Petworth. There are those who acquire a property in Petworth, completely expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the purchaser.

Solicitors are not qualified to give advice on flood risk, but there are a various searches that may be initiated by the purchaser or by their solicitors which can figure out the risks in Petworth. The standard information given to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard question of the seller to discover if the property has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the seller, then a buyer could bring a legal claim for losses stemming from an inaccurate response. A buyer’s conveyancers may also commission an environmental report. This will reveal if there is any known flood risk. If so, more detailed investigations should be conducted.

I have justbecome aware that Stirling Law have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Petworth for a purchase of a freehold house 18 months ago. How can I check that the property is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?

The easiest method to check if the property is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Petworth conveyancing specialists.

Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Petworth prior to instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor has said that some banks tend not grant a loan on such a property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Petworth. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Petworth especially if they are acquainted with such properties in Petworth.