It is a dozen years since I acquired my property in Bishops Lydeard. Conveyancing solicitors have just been instructed on the sale but I can't locate my deeds. Is this a major issue?

You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be retained by the lender or they could still be with the lawyers who oversaw the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Bishops Lydeard relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it is more of a problem but is resolvable.

My solicitor has informed me that absentee landlord insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Bishops Lydeard conveyancing?

The right level of absentee landlord indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Nationwide Building Society and Skipton Building Society. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to borrowers take out such insurances.

I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in June 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Skipton are being difficult. The Bishops Lydeard solicitor who is on the Skipton conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Skipton are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Skipton have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Skipton have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Skipton may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

Planning on purchasing a flat in Bishops Lydeard. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Bishops Lydeard conveyancing practitioner is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel.

I note that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Am I compelled to take this when acquiring a house in Bishops Lydeard? or Apparently there is a law dating back centuries that could mean that owners of property living in a parish church boundary will be compelled to pay for repairs to the chancel within the church. Is this applicable for conveyancing in Bishops Lydeard?

Unless a previous acquisition of the property completed after 12 October 2013 you may assume that lawyers carrying out conveyancing in Bishops Lydeard to remain recommending a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.

I'm buying my first flat in Bishops Lydeard with the aid of help to buy. The developers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not disclose to my solicitor about the deal as it could affect my mortgage with the bank. 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Bishops Lydeard. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Bishops Lydeard who previously acted has now retired. Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Bishops Lydeard conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Bishops Lydeard Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? It is important to be aware if changing the roof or some other major work is due shortly to be shared by the leaseholders and will dramatically increase the the maintenance charges or result in a one off payment. Where a Bishops Lydeard lease has less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the property for a couple of years in order to be legally able to extend the lease.