My relative advised me that if I am purchasing in Stone Cross I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

A search of this type is usually included in the estimate for your Stone Cross conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Stone Cross around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Stone Cross Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Stone Cross Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Stone Cross.

I'm buying a new build house in Stone Cross with a loan from Bank of Scotland. The developers would not reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The house builders rep told me not to tell my conveyancer about the deal as it may affect my loan 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.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one close by in Stone Cross I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Stone Cross suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?

If you require a mortgage that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Stone Cross. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I bought a 2 bed flat in Stone Cross, conveyancing formalities finalised 4 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Stone Cross with over 90 years remaining are worth £195,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2088

With only 63 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £16,200 and £18,600 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

I have just placed an offer on a leasehold flat in Stone Cross and the broker that we are using suggested his lawyer. They quoted £800 plus VAT and disbursements. Does this sound reasonable?

Don't just go on 1 estimate. You should seek like-for-like quotes for your conveyancing in Stone Cross. Then select one that you are comfortable with and crucially, is on the approved list of the bank that you are sourcing your mortgage from.