I am acquiring a property mortgage free in Durrington. I have been living for the previous twelve years in Durrington. Conveyancing searches are a lot of money. As I know the road and vicinity very well must I have all the conveyancing searches?

In the absence of a mortgage, then almost all of the Durrington conveyancing searches are optional. Your solicitor will ’encourage you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches done, but he is duty bound to take that path of encouragement . One thing to take into account; if you are likely to dispose of the house at a future date, it could be of relevance to your prospective purchaser what the searches disclose. On occasion houses with functional issues can still show up unpredicted search results. A competent conveyancing solicitor in Durrington will be able to give you some sensible guidance concerning this.

Will our lawyer be making enquiries concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Durrington.

Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers specialising in conveyancing in Durrington. There are those who buy a house in Durrington, completely expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, suitable insurance cover, or sell the premises. Steps can be carried out during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the purchaser.

Solicitors are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, but there are a various checks that may be undertaken by the purchaser or by their solicitors which can figure out the risks in Durrington. The conventional set of property information forms supplied to a buyer’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard inquiry of the vendor to discover whether the property has suffered from flooding. If the residence has been flooded in past which is not notified by the vendor, then a purchaser may commence a compensation claim as a result of such an incorrect reply. The purchaser’s solicitors will also commission an enviro report. This will higlight if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations should be initiated.

I am purchasing a new build house in Durrington with a mortgage from Godiva Mortgages Ltd. The builders would not move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The house builders rep told me not inform my lawyer about this extras as it would impact my loan with Godiva Mortgages Ltd. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a simple, no chain conveyancing. Durrington is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Durrington are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Durrington you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Durrington may determine 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.

My wife and I may need to sub-let our Durrington basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Durrington conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Durrington conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I acquired a 2 bed flat in Durrington, conveyancing formalities finalised 7 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Durrington with a long lease are worth £186,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2077

With 52 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £29,500 and £34,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.