Our son-in-law is in the process of securing a new build apartment in Chesterton with a mortgage from . His solicitor has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?

The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the transaction. 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 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 conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

Having sold my house in Chesterton last November yet the purchaser is Skype messaging daily to say his lawyer needs to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale formalities now that I have sold?

Following your disposal your solicitor is duty bound to send the transfer deeds and all additional paperwork to the buyer’s solicitors. Depending on the transaction, your conveyancer must also evidence that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been paid off to the purchasers solicitors. There is unlikely to be post completion steps unique to conveyancing in Chesterton.

My husband and I are hoping to buy a newly converted flat in Chesterton with a mortgage from .We like our Chesterton conveyancing solicitor but says his firm is not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct a panel firm or retain our preferred solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that use our lawyer?

No, not really. The home loan issued to you contains terms and conditions, a common one being that solicitors will be on the conveyancing panel. in the past, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for

I have been sourcing a conveyancing lawyer in Chesterton for my remortgage. Is it possible to check a firm’s complaints history with the profession’s regulator?

You may read documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations resulting from investigations started on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors history, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes monitor telephone calls for training requirements.

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Chesterton. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you pay the service charge as usual because all ground rent and maintenance invoices should be allotted on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I acquired a studio flat in Chesterton, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding flats in Chesterton with a long lease are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 50

With just 50 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.