I sincerely hope you can assist me. My Neath Abbey conveyancer is assuring me that he is legally obliged toapply for Neath Abbey conveyancing searches asthe firm are on the Nat Westapproved lawyer panel. Is my solicitor correct?

Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are taking a home loan with a lender your conveyancing practitioner has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your solicitor would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook conditions . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Neath Abbey conveyancing searches.

Why do I have to pay up front when it comes to conveyancing in Neath Abbey?

Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Neath Abbey your solicitor will ask you put them with funds to cover the search fees. Normally this is needed to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. If any down payment is as part of the purchase price then this will be needed shortly in advance of contracts are exchanged. Any further balance that is needed should be transferred a couple of days prior to the day of completion.

Should our solicitor be asking questions regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Neath Abbey.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers specialising in conveyancing in Neath Abbey. There are those who purchase a property in Neath Abbey, fully expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or dispose of the property. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.

Lawyers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a number of searches that can be undertaken by the buyer or by their lawyers which will give them a better appreciation of the risks in Neath Abbey. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms given to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a usual question of the seller to determine if the property has historically flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the owner, then a purchaser could bring a compensation claim resulting from an misleading answer. The purchaser’s conveyancers should also commission an enviro search. This should disclose whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations should be conducted.

I am purchasing a new build house in Neath Abbey with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative suggested that I not reveal to my conveyancer about this side-deal as it could affect my loan with the bank. 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.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Neath Abbey is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Neath Abbey are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Neath Abbey you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Neath Abbey may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.