Our son is purchasing a house that has just been built in Marple with a home loan from Leeds Building Society. His lawyer has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?

The form is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when asked. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Marple for our house purchase. Our broker informed us that our bank Coventry Building Society won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unduly restrictive?

Banks normally imposes restrictions either the category or the number of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such criteria being that a law practice must not be a sole practitioner. As well as restricting the profile of firm, a few banks have limited the number of firms they allow to act for them. Be aware that Coventry Building Society have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Coventry Building Society Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of solicitor panels a few years ago even though there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Data from the Land Registry indicate that hundreds of law firms, including some in or near Marple only execute very few conveyances per annum.

A relative advised me that where I am buying in Marple I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Marple conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing important information about Marple around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Marple Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Marple Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Marple.

I have a renovated Edwardian house in Marple. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Yorkshire Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Marple and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the work.

Is there a distinction between surveying and conveyancing in Marple?

Conveyancing - in Marple or anywhere in England and Wales - is the legal term given to transferring legal title of property from one person to another. It involves the investigation of the title. Whether buying or selling, you should be aware of anything affecting the property such as proposals by government departments, illegal buildings, or outstanding rates. The conveyancer should conduct the appropriate searches and inquiries on the property. Surveying relates to the structure of a property itself. A surveyor will look at a house, flat and any outbuildings you are intending to buy and will help you find out about the condition of the building and, if there are problems, give you leverage for negotiating the buying price down or asking the seller to fix the defects before you complete your move.