Our grandson is buying a new build apartment in Oadby with a mortgage from Nottingham. His solicitor has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?

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

Do conveyancers request money on account for my conveyancing in Oadby?

Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Oadby your solicitor will ask you to provide them with funds to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. Generally this is requested to cover the fees of the Local Authority Search. When the deposit is as part of the purchase price then this should be required shortly in advance of contracts are exchanged. The closing balance that is needed will be payable a couple of days prior to the completion date.

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as a first time purchaser of a garden flat in Oadby. Do I collect the keys to the property on completion from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Oadby?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will transfer the completion advance to the vendor’s lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be able to receive the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs between 1 and 3pm.

Is it the case that all Oadby conveyancing solicitors on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Leeds Building Society approved list of solicitors they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many lenders do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

I've digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Oadby solicitor - who is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?

Coventry BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Coventry BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Oadby surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

I used Action Conveyancing several years past for my conveyancing in Oadby. I now require my papers but the law firm has closed. What do I do?

Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Oadby of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Oadby. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, however I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the maintenance contribution as normal as all rents and service payments will be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Oadby - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Is there a share of the freehold? Plenty Oadby leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the management company. If you acquire the flat you will have to meet this liability, normally quarterly throughout the year. This can differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large amount, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that will increase the service fees?