I require conveyancing for an apartment in a relatively new development (6 years old) in Seaford. The vast majority the flats are already disposed of. Is it strictly necessary to order conveyancing searches as part of conveyancing in Seaford?

If you getting a mortgage, your bank will insist on some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Seaford conveyancing searches are optional. No doubt your conveyancer, will ’encourage’, perhaps in the strongest possible terms, that you should have the searches done, 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 demand that your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or you may need to find a new lawyer for your conveyancing in Seaford.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Seaford?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Seaford. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I'm buying a new build house in Seaford benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The house builders rep advised me not reveal to my solicitor about the side-deal as it would jeopardize my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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 Seaford before retaining lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. Our surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to grant a mortgage on such a premises.

It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to call us we can investigate further via the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Seaford. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Seaford to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

The estate agent has suggested using their lawyer for our conveyancing in Seaford - won’t it be better to just use them?

This is not necessarily the case and you are entitled to use whichever lawyer you prefer for your Seaford home move. The conveyancer recommended by an estate agent may not necessarily be the best solicitor, they may recommend their preferred conveyancing firm who are based far away. In this instance you may not have contact with your lawyer and due to the lack of continuity in the transaction, it may be difficult to obtain progress reports.