I am buying a brand new apartment in Desford and my solicitor is advising me that she has to the lender to disclose incentives from the seller. I am under pressure to exchange contracts and I don't want to prolong matters. is my lawyer playing by the book?

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

It is is a decade since I acquired my house in Desford. Conveyancing solicitors have now been appointed on the sale but I can't locate the deeds. Will this cause complications?

You need not be too concerned. First the deeds may be with the lender or they could be in the possession of the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly the chances are that the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers procuring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Desford involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it is more tricky but is resolvable.

My wife and I are intent on selling our property in Desford and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. A high street Desford lawyer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the buyers instructed a nationwide conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Desford. Having lived in Desford for three years we know of no issue. Should we contact our local Authority to obtain confirmation that the buyers are looking for.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same illness)

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

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Desford. 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 am in the process of purchasing my 1st home in Desford. Conveyancing lawyer has been selected. The broker advised that a survey is not needed as the property is just 20 yrs old.

At the very least you should have a Home Buyer's Report. As the premises was built more than a decade ago the property will not come with a warranty, so you don't want to take a risk. Where a property of this age shows no signs of defects a Home Buyer's report could be enough. The report should highlight any apparent issues and recommend further investigation where relevant. If there are any signs of problems obtain a full structural survey.