It is 10 years ago since I purchased my property in East Leake. Conveyancing solicitors have now been retained on the sale but I can't track down my title deeds. Is this a major issue?

Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be with the mortgage company or they could be archived with the solicitor who handled the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers procuring current official copies of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in East Leake involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is unregistered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.

I have been told that property searches are a common cause of obstruction in East Leake house deals. Is that correct?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the findings of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the top 10 causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to be the root cause of holding up conveyancing in East Leake.

It has been five months since my purchase conveyancing in East Leake completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

I'm purchasing a new build house in East Leake benefiting from help to buy. The builders would not reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep advised me not inform my lawyer about the side-deal as it could adversely affect my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

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 have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and identified one round the corner in East Leake I like with a park and transport links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 61 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in East Leake in this price bracket, 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 remaining unexpired lease term will be problematic. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.