I am need of leasehold conveyancing for a flat in a relatively new development (6 years old) in Rainham Kent. 95% of the flats have already been disposed of. Is it really necessary to order neighbourhood searches as part of conveyancing in Rainham Kent?

If you are purchasing a property with the assistance of a loan, your mortgage company will insist on some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Rainham Kent conveyancing searches are for you to decide upon. No doubt your conveyancer, will 'advise', perhaps in the strongest possible terms, that you should not go ahead without searches, but he or she has a professional duty to do this. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you choose to instruct your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or you may need to instruct a new lawyer for your conveyancing in Rainham Kent.

A friend suggested that if I am purchasing in Rainham Kent I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Rainham Kent conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Rainham Kent around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Rainham Kent Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Rainham Kent.

I am purchasing a new build house in Rainham Kent with a mortgage from Nottingham Building Society. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The estate agent advised me not disclose to my lawyer about the deal as it could put at risk my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

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 completed on a house in Rainham Kent before instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor advised that some banks will not issue a mortgage on this type of property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Rainham Kent. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

Is it best to appoint a Rainham Kent conveyancing solicitor based in the vicinity that I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can deal with the legal work but his firm is located 300miles away.

The primary upside of using a local Rainham Kent conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to sign documents, deliver your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local insight which is a bonus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who used your friend and they were impressed that should trump using an unknown Rainham Kent conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being round the corner.