I am acquiring a house mortgage free in Amesbury. I have lived for the previous 20 years in Amesbury. Conveyancing searches are a lot of money. Given that I have knowledge of the area and road very well must I have all the conveyancing searches?

In the absence of a home loan, then almost all of the Amesbury conveyancing searches are at your discretion. Your lawyer will try and sway you, no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches carried out, but he has a professional duty to do this. One thing to consider; if you are going to sell the house at a future date, it may be of importance to your prospective purchaser what the searches determine. On occasion properties with functional issues can still throw up negative search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Amesbury should provide you some constructive guidance in this regard.

I am purchasing my first flat in Amesbury with a mortgage from Birmingham Midshires. The builders would not move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The estate agent advised me not disclose to my lawyer about this deal as it will affect my mortgage with Birmingham Midshires. 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've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Amesbury is the location of the property. Can you offer any opinion?

Flying freeholds in Amesbury are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Amesbury you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Amesbury may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.

Am I best advised to use a Amesbury conveyancing lawyer based in the location that I am hoping to buy? An old friend can perform the legal work but they are based 400kilometers drive away.

The benefit of a high street Amesbury conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to sign paperwork, hand in your ID and pester them where appropriate. Having local Amesbury know how is a plus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who instructed your friend and the majority were impressed that must outweigh using an unknown Amesbury conveyancing solicitor just because they are round the corner.

At long last our conveyancing in Amesbury is completing this Friday, yet the person I am purchasing from wishes to move out on the Saturday afternoon. Do I agree to such a plan?

In situations where you need a loan then your property lawyer will require that you have vacant possession on Friday - the mortgage company will insist on it.