We are acquiring a new build duplex in Prestbury and my solicitor is telling me that she has to the lender to reveal incentives from the builder. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange contracts and I would rather not prolong the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

My Conveyancer in Prestbury is not listed on the Chelsea Building Society Approved Panel. Can I still use my prefered solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the Chelsea Building Society list of approved lawyers?

The limited options open to you here include:

1. Carry on with your preferred Prestbury lawyers but Chelsea Building Society will need to retain a conveyancer on their panel. This will inevitably rack up the total legal charges as well as result in delays.
2. Choose a new lawyer to act in the conveyancing, remembering to check they are Chelsea Building Society approved.
3. Persuade your Chelsea Building Society solicitor to seek to join the Chelsea Building Society panel

My wife and I have a terraced Victorian property in Prestbury. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Bank of Ireland. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Prestbury and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who carried out the work.

Is it best to use a Prestbury conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? An old friend can conduct the legal work however they are based a couple of hundredmiles away.

The primary upside of using a local Prestbury conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to execute documents, deliver your identification documents and apply pressure on them if necessary. They will also have local knowledge which is a plus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If other friends have used your friend and in the main were content that should outweigh using an unknown Prestbury conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being round the corner.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Prestbury. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Prestbury Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

What is the service charge and ground rent on the property? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? It would be wise to discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Prestbury. If you like the apartmentin Prestbury but your dog can’t live with you then you will be presented with a difficult determination.