Our god-son is buying a house that has just been built in Bournville with a mortgage from . His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?

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 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 conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

What can a local search reveal concerning the house we're buying in Bournville?

Bournville conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company such as Searches UK The local search is essential in every Bournville conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any unpleasant once you have moved into your new home. The search will reveal data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 subject sections.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in Bournville?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Bournville. 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 purchasing my first flat in Bournville with a loan from . The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about the side-deal as it may put at risk my mortgage with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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 am looking for a flat up to £305k and identified one near me in Bournville I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Bournville for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.