My grandson is buying a house that has just been built in Seaview with a mortgage from Nottingham. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?

The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Nottingham 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 Nottingham conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

I'm in the process of looking at apartments in Seaview and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I intend to finance via a home loan with Aldermore.

You should start requesting conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the EA. As you are obtaining a mortgage with Aldermore, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Seaview off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Yorkshire BS. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel.

Coventry BS have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a house in Seaview has been accepted, what happens next?

Your estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure the lawyers are on the lender’s panel). Call up Coventry BS or your broker and finish off any outstanding paperwork. Coventry BS will appoint a valuer who will get in touch with the selling agent or vendor to book an appointment. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes on average a fortnight for the mortgage offer to be issued. Coventry BS will send the offer to you and your solicitors. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Seaview.

I'm buying my first flat in Seaview with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep advised me not reveal to my lawyer about the deal as it may affect my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.

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.

Should I be wary that brokers that I am dealing with are recommending an online conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Seaview conveyancing firm?

As is the case with lots of service providers, often referrals from connections can be most helpful. Yet there are numerous players in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, financial adviser and mortgage companies might all suggest lawyers to retain. On occasion the conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but sometimes there is an underlying financial incentive behind the recommendation. You are at liberty to select your own conveyancer. You need to be aware that most lenders specify a panel list of conveyancers you have to use for the mortgage aspect of your house move.

My mum and dad cant seem to find their Seaview land registry title on the website. They have a vague memory sixty years ago when they acquired the property there were complications with Seaview not being recognised in some systems.

Almost all residences in Seaview should appear. Have you tried a search with simply the postcode. Ordinarily it should mention all the premises inside the postcode. Where registered it will show up with a title number. Where they bought back in the 70’s it's conceivable it may be unregistered. The address could still be revealed but with the title number identified as 'na'. In this scenario you will need to find the original title papers which could be with your parent’s bank.