I am need of leasehold conveyancing for an apartment in a relatively new development (seven years old) in Formby. The vast majority the flats have already been disposed of. Is it really necessary to order local searches for my conveyancing in Formby?

If you getting a loan, your bank will insist on some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Formby conveyancing searches are for you to decide upon. Your lawyer, will 'advise', perhaps in the strongest possible terms, that you should not go ahead without searches, but he or she is duty bound in this regard. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you demand that your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or ask you to appoint a different lawyer for your conveyancing in Formby.

Completed the sale of my flat in Formby last April yet the purchaser is e-mailing daily to say his lawyer is waiting to hear from myconveyancer. What should have happened now that I have sold?

Following your sale your conveyancer is duty bound to send the transfer documentation and all of the paperwork to the buyer’s solicitors. Depending on the transaction, your solicitor must also confirm that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been discharged to the buyers conveyancers. There is unlikely to be post completion steps specific conveyancing in Formby.

The Formby conveyancing lawyers that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Formby have without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I had to have a firm on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel and my previous Formby lawyer was not. I wrote them a cheque for £250 in advance. What are my options?

If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors may be able to assist.

My wife and I are intent on selling our house in Formby and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. A high street Formby conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers instructed a factory type conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Formby. Having lived in Formby for six years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to obtain clarification that the buyers are looking for.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer already. Are they able to advise? You should enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)

I am purchasing my first flat in Formby with the aid of help to buy. The sellers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent told me not reveal to my solicitor about the side-deal as it may affect my mortgage with the lender. 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.