I am buying a house for cash in Brighstone. I have lived for the last 15 years in Brighstone. Conveyancing searches are expensive. Given that I know the area and road very well should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?

In the absence of a mortgage, then all but one or two of the Brighstone conveyancing searches are optional. Your solicitor will 'advise', perhaps strongly, that you should have searches completed, but he is duty bound to do this. Do bear in mind; if you are going to sell the house at a future date, it could be of interest to your prospective buyer what the searches reveal. On occasion properties with apparent issues can still reveal negative search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Brighstone will provide you some practical advice in this regard.

After reading moneysavingexpert.com for a high-quality solicitor in Brighstone, many advise that I must look for a CQS accredited solicitor. Can you explain what CQS is?

Brighstone Conveyancing Quality Scheme solicitors have achieved accreditation by the law Society The Law Society established CQS to establish evidence of quality standards in the home moving process. CQS helps home movers to recognise practices who provide a quality residential conveyancing. Brighstone is one of the many areas in England and Wales in which accredited firms have a presence. The scheme obliges practices to undergo a strict assessment, compulsory training, self-certification, spot checks and yearly assessments in order to maintain CQS status. It is available to solicitors and not licensed conveyancers and has the support of the Building Societies Association.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Brighstone with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about the extras as it will adversely affect my loan with the lender. Is this normal?.

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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Brighstone with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Brighstone can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
A minority of Brighstone leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers. If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Brighstone conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity. If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved. You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I acquired a ground floor flat in Brighstone, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2011. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Brighstone with over 90 years remaining are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2094

You have 69 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Why am I unable to complete our conveyancing in Brighstone on a public holiday?

This is due to the fact that on completion the purchase price needs to pass between the banks of the purchaser and owner’s conveyancing practitioner and at present this can only take place on a working day. So you can't complete on a saturday or sunday either.