My wife and I are buying a flat in Rottingdean. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a conveyancer? On the day of competition we have to deposit our life savings into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

I am helping my step-mother sell her house in Rottingdean. Does the solicitor arrange an EPC or it is for me to coordinate?

After the abolition of HIPs, energy performance certificates was kept a required component of selling a property. An EPC needs to be commissioned prior to the property being put on the market. It is not as aspect of the sale process that solicitors ordinarily arrange. If you are instructing a Rottingdean conveyancing practitioner they might help arrange EPC’s given their contacts with reputable Rottingdean accredited person

My sealed bid on a detached house in Rottingdean has been accepted, the vendors do however have a dependent purchase. The owners have offered on a property, however it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other flats in the pipeline. I have selected a high street conveyancing solicitor in Rottingdean. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage application with Nationwide going?

It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses too early (home loan application is approx £1k, then survey, Rottingdean conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you should ensure that your conveyancer is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. As to the next steps this very much depends on the circumstances of your transaction, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. During a rising market some home buyers would apply for the mortgage with Nationwide and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their property lawyer to proceed with searches.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Rottingdean?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Rottingdean. 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 purchasing a new build house in Rottingdean with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The property agent advised me not disclose to my lawyer about the deal as it could put at risk my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.

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 decided to have a survey carried out on a property in Rottingdean in advance of instructing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some mortgage companies will not grant a mortgage on such a house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements for example to Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Rottingdean. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

Am I best advised to use a Rottingdean conveyancing solicitor based in the area that I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can carry out the legal work but his firm is located over three hundred kilometers drive away.

The primary upside of using a local Rottingdean conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to execute paperwork, deliver your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local intelligence which is a plus. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and on the whole were impressed that should surpass using an unfamiliar Rottingdean conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being Rottingdean based.