My grandson is buying a newly built flat in Richmond with a mortgage from Coventry BS. His solicitor has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?

The document is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Coventry BS 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 Coventry BS 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 planning to acquire a flat and need a conveyancing solicitor in Richmond who is on the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing. Can you recommend a local conveyancing firm?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Chelsea Building Society in certain locations such as Richmond. We dont recommend any particular firm.

About to purchase a new build flat in Richmond. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Richmond

Please supply a car parking plan. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Please provide evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry.

Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Richmond prior to instructing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may not issue a loan on such a home.

It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different requirements from Halifax. If you call us we can look into this further via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Richmond. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Richmond from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Richmond can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers’ lawyers.
If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Richmond state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Should you dont have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first. If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled. Many landlords or managing agents in Richmond levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Richmond.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Richmond - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Be sure to find out if the the lease contains any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. By way of example it is very common in Richmond leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Richmond. If you like the apartmentin Richmond but your dog is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a difficult compromise. Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the building? Most Richmond leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the management company. Should you buy the flat you will have to pay this amount, usually in instalments accross the year. This may vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say about £25-£75 but you should to check it because occasionally it can be prohibitively expensive.