Our son is in the process of securing a newly built flat in Prescot with a mortgage from Barclays. His lawyer has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?

The form is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Barclays 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 Barclays conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

Having sold my house in Prescot last April yet the purchaser is telephoning daily complaining that her lawyer needs to hear from myconveyancer. What should my lawyer have done following completion?

Following your disposal your conveyancer is duty bound to forward the transfer deeds and all of the paperwork to the buyer’s solicitors. If applicable, your solicitor must also send confirmation that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been paid off to the buyers solicitors. There is unlikely to be post completion tasks peculiar conveyancing in Prescot.

How does conveyancing in Prescot differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build property in Prescot approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because new home sellers in Prescot tend to acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Prescot or who has acted in the same development.

I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one near me in Prescot I like with amenity areas and station nearby, however it only has 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Prescot for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?

If you need a home loan the shortness of the lease will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.

I own a leasehold flat in Prescot. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Prescot who previously acted has now retired. What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Prescot conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Prescot Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

Plenty Prescot leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block invoiced on behalf of the management company. Where you purchase the flat you will have to pay this liability, usually quarterly during the year. This may differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large sum, say around £50-£100 but you need to check as sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments?