My husband and I are purchasing a brand new flat in Buckingham and my lawyer is advising me that she has to the lender to reveal incentives from the developer. I am on a tight deadline to sign contracts and I have no desire to prolong matters. Is my lawyer right?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your . A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

Do lawyers request money up-front when it comes to conveyancing in Buckingham?

If you are buying a property in Buckingham your solicitor will ask you put them with funds to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. If any down payment is payable against the purchase price then this will be needed immediately in advance of contracts are exchanged. Any further balance that is due should be sent to your lawyer shortly before completion.

I am buying a new build house in Buckingham with the aid of help to buy. The builders would not move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The estate agent suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about the extras as it would adversely affect my mortgage with . Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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 leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one near me in Buckingham I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Buckingham for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?

If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.

In my capacity as executor for the will of my father I am disposing of a residence in Cardiff but I am based in Buckingham. My solicitor (approximately 250 kilometers from meneeds me to execute a statutory declaration before completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Buckingham who can attest this legal document for me?

Technically speaking you are not likely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are based in Buckingham