Our grandson is in the process of securing a new build apartment in Merton Park with a mortgage from Nottingham. His lawyer has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?

The document 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 Nottingham conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested. 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 Nottingham conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

I am purchasing a garden flat in Merton Park. Conveyancing solicitors are said to be ‘a necessary evil’ but can I do it myself?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Merton Park you will have to appoint a solicitor on your bank's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Merton Park.

If you had a top tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Merton Park what would it be?

Do not opt for the lowest Merton Park conveyancing quote. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Merton Park. Do I collect the keys to the property on the completion date from my conveyancer? If this is the case, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Merton Park?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the completion advance to the owner’s lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be able to collect the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.

I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Merton Park. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £175. Soon after, the property lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Santander conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Santander panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Merton Park. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Merton Park

Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose?

I am looking for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one close by in Merton Park I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, however it's only got 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Merton Park for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

If you require a home loan that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you could request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this.