My partner and I are planning to buy a house in Colchester and have appointed a Colchester conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Halifax have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Colchester solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?

If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Colchester lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

What will a local search inform me concerning the house my wife and I purchasing in Colchester?

Colchester conveyancing often commences with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search company for instance Searchflow The local search is essential in every Colchester conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any unpleasant surprises after you move into your new home. The search should reveal data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 subject sections.

I am buying my first flat in Colchester with a mortgage from Barclays . The developers refused to move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not reveal to my lawyer about the side-deal as it could affect my mortgage with Barclays . Should I keep quiet?.

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 looking for a flat up to £245,000 and identified one near me in Colchester I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 49 years on the lease. There is not much else in Colchester suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a home loan that many years will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you can ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.

How can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my commercial offices in Colchester and how can your lawyers assist?

The particular law that you refer to gives security of tenure to commercial tenants, giving them the right to make a request to court for a new tenancy and remain in occupation at the end of an expired lease. There are certain specified grounds where a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are involved. We are happy to direct you to commercial conveyancing practices who use the act to your advantage and handle your commercial conveyancing in Colchester