I am buying a newly built duplex in Tewkesbury and my lawyer is telling me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the developer. I am on a tight deadline to sign contracts and my preference is not to prolong matters. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your lawyer. 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.

Are the Tewkesbury conveyancing solicitors identified as being on the TSB conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by TSB?

Tewkesbury conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the TSB conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from TSB directly.

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

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Tewkesbury. 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 my first flat in Tewkesbury with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The property agent told me not inform my solicitor about this extras as it may adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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.

As co-executor for the will of my grandmother I am selling a residence in Cardiff but reside in Tewkesbury. My solicitor (based 250 miles from meneeds me to execute a stat dec prior to completion. Could you suggest a conveyancing solicitor in Tewkesbury who can attest and place their company stamp on the document?

strictly speaking you should not be required to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are based in Tewkesbury