My son is purchasing a house that has just been built in Trentham with a home loan from Virgin Money. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?

The form 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 Virgin Money conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when asked. 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 Virgin Money conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Trentham. Do I pick up the keys to the premises on completion from my conveyancer? If this is the case, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Trentham?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the completion advance to the seller's conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be called to receive the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs early afternoon.

Is it the case that all Trentham solicitor firms on the Barclays conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Barclays approved list of solicitors they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Some banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be overseen by the CLC.

I've read lots of mortgage guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Trentham solicitor - who is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?

Leeds Building Society will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Leeds Building Society will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Trentham surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

My wife and I own a semi-detached Georgian house in Trentham. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and TSB. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same 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 Trentham and other areas of 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 purchasers. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the work.

How does conveyancing in Trentham differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Trentham come to us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is built. This is because house builders in Trentham typically purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Trentham or who has acted in the same development.

I happen to be an executor of my recently deceased mother’s Will, with a bungalow in Trentham which is to be sold. The property has never been registered at the Land Registry and I'm advised that many EAs will insist that it is in place before they will proceed. What's the mechanism for this?

In the situation that you have set out it seems advisable to seek to register in the names of the personal representative(s) as named in the probate and in their capacity as PRs. The Land Registry’s online guidance explains how to register for the first time and what is required re the deeds and forms. You would need to include and official copy of the probate as well and complete the form FR1 to refer to the PRs as the applicant.