My wife and I are intending to purchase a 2 bedroom apartment in Stoke Park with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Stoke Park solicitor, but the bank advise he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little option but to select one of the bank panel conveyancing practices or retain our Stoke Park lawyer and pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. We regard this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Stoke Park conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

Will our solicitor be asking questions about flooding during the conveyancing in Stoke Park.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors dealing with homes in Stoke Park. Plenty of people will buy a property in Stoke Park, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.

Lawyers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, but there are a various searches that can be carried out by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which can figure out the risks in Stoke Park. The conventional set of property information forms sent to a buyer’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard question of the vendor to find out whether the property has ever been flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not notified by the vendor, then a buyer may commence a claim for damages resulting from an inaccurate answer. The buyer’s solicitors will also commission an environmental report. This should disclose whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further investigations will need to be made.

Me and my brother own a renovated Victorian house in Stoke Park. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Coventry Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Stoke Park and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.

I am purchasing my first flat in Stoke Park benefiting from help to buy. The sellers would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The house builders rep told me not to tell my solicitor about the side-deal as it could adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

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 am attracted to a two apartments in Stoke Park both have in the region of 50 years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Stoke Park is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Stoke Park conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Stoke Park Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

How much is the ground rent and service charge? Be sure to investigate if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance some leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Stoke Park. If you like the propertyin Stoke Park yet your dog can’t live with you then you will be presented with a hard decision. Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the block?