My wife and I are purchasing a new build duplex in Redbridge and my conveyancer is telling me that she is duty bound to the lender to disclose incentives from the developer. I am under pressure to exchange and I would rather not delay the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?

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

What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Redbridge? Why is this being asked of me?

You are right in these requests have nothing to do with conveyancing in Redbridge. Nowadays you can not proceed with any conveyancing transaction if you have not supplying proof of your identity. Ordinarily this takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence and a council tax bill. Please note that if you are providing your driving licence as evidence of ID it needs to be both the paper element as well as the photo card part, one is not satisfactory in the absence of the other.

Verification of your source of funds is required under Money Laundering Regulations. You should not be offended when you are asked to produce this as your lawyer must have this information on file. Your Redbridge conveyancing solicitor will require evidence of proof of funds prior to accepting any monies from you into their client account and they will also ask further queries regarding the origin of monies.

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

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Redbridge. 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'm buying a new build house in Redbridge with a mortgage from Bank of Scotland. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The property agent told me not reveal to my lawyer about this side-deal as it could put at risk my mortgage with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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 am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Redbridge which have approximately fifty years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena.

Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in negotiating a lease extension in Redbridge. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Redbridge conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Redbridge premises is 59 & 59a Clarendon Gardens in February 2014. The Tribunals valuation for the freehold was £30,073.00 The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 65 and 61.