I'm buying my first flat in Newent benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not disclose to my conveyancer about this deal as it will adversely affect my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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 decided to have a survey carried out on a house in Newent ahead of appointing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may not issue a loan on this type of premises.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you call us we can check with the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Newent. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Newent to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

I am looking into buying my first house which is in Newent and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Newent. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Newent area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Newent. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

We're first time buyers - agreed a price, yet the property agent told us that the seller will only go ahead if we use their chosen solicitors as they are insisting on a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a family conveyancer who is familiar with conveyancing in Newent

We suspect that the owner is unaware of this ultimatum. Should the vendor desire ‘a quick sale', turning down a serious buyer is not the way to achieve this. Speak to the vendors direct and make sure they comprehend that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to go, with finances arranged © you are chain free (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you will continue to instruct your own,trusted Newent conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will provide the negotiator at the agency a kickback or hit his conveyancing thresholds set by HQ.

Last July I purchased a leasehold flat in Newent. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Leasehold Conveyancing in Newent - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

This information is helpful as a) areas can cause problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to have full disclosure The best form of lease structure is where the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the leaseholders have being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is frequently retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. Who are the managing agents?