Our grandson is in the process of securing a house that has just been built in Crystal Palace with a home loan from Nottingham. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?

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 Nottingham conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor 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 Nottingham conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

Is it necessary to pay for insurance to protect me from financial exposure to chancel repairs when buying a house in Crystal Palace?

Unless a previous acquisition of the property completed post 12 October 2013 you could take it that conveyancing practitioners conducting conveyancing in Crystal Palace to remain recommending a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

The deeds to my property are lost. The lawyers who handled the conveyancing in Crystal Palace 5 years ago are no longer around. What are my options?

Assuming the title is registered the details of your ownership will be retained by HMLR with a Title Number. It is possible to execute a search at the Land Registry, locate your property and get current copies of the property title for a small fee. Where the property is Leasehold then the Land Registry will in most cases retain a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for £20 inclusive of VAT.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a quick, chain free conveyancing. Crystal Palace is the location of the property. What do you suggest?

Flying freeholds in Crystal Palace are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Crystal Palace you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Crystal Palace may ascertain 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 property.

Fiveweeks into buying a property in Crystal Palace. Conveyancing lawyer has phoned to say the title is "Leasehold". Should this make a difference on the salability of the property?

Crystal Palace conveyancing does not in most situations involve leasehold houses. The main consideration here is the length of lease and the ground rent. If it's 999 years with a nominal rent, it's almost the same as freehold, so it’s unlikely to impact the saleability significantly.

At the other extreme, if it's, say, 50 years it is bound to have a adverse effect on the value, and probably wouldn't be mortgageable. The length of lease and ground rent will be specified in the lease provided to your conveyancer.