I am purchasing a newly built flat in Sudbury and my solicitor is telling me that she is duty bound to the bank to reveal incentives from the builder. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange contracts and I have no desire to prolong deal. Is my lawyer right?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancing practitioner. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in October 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Nationwide are being difficult. The Sudbury solicitor who is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Nationwide are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Nationwide have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Nationwide have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Nationwide may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

TSB have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a house in Sudbury has been accepted, now what?

The estate agent will want to be advised as to your property lawyer's details (ensure that the lawyers are on the lender’s approved list). Call up TSB or your broker and finish off any relevant paperwork. TSB will appoint a valuer who will get in contact with the selling agent or seller to schedule a slot for the valuation to occur. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about a week for the mortgage offer to be issued. TSB will send the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Sudbury.

My offer on a property in Sudbury has been agreed to, but there is a chain. The vendors have placed an offer on on an apartment, however it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other apartments in the pipeline. I have chosen a high street conveyancing solicitor in Sudbury. What should be my next step? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with RBS?

It is understandable to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses too early (mortgage application is in the region of £1k, then survey, Sudbury conveyancing search charges, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your conveyancing practitioner is on the RBS conveyancing panel. Concerning the subsequent stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your transaction, desire for this property and on the state of the market. During a buoyant market many home buyers will apply for a home loan with RBS and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their conveyancing practitioner to move forward with searches.

I require fast conveyancing in Sudbury as I have pressure to exchange contracts within one month. A home loan is not required. Is it possible to decline from having conveyancing searches to save money and time?

As you are not taking a home loan you have the choice not to do searches although no law firm would advise that you don't. With lots of history conveyancing in Sudbury the following are instances of what can show up and adversely impact future mortgageability: Refused Planning Applications, Outstanding Charges, Overdue Grants, Railway Schemes,...

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on two weeks back in what was supposed to be a simple, chain free conveyancing. Sudbury is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Sudbury are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Sudbury you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Sudbury 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 property.

My husband and I have agreed a price on a Sudbury house left to us ten years ago in 2011. I have over a decades worth of conveyancing know-how and, although retired, wish to do my own conveyancing. The buyer's conveyancing practitioner has informed me that their building society will not allow us to do our own conveyancing mandating that the funds to be sent to a solicitor's bank account.

Lending instructions to conveyancers from all mainstream lenders specify that If the vendor is not legally represented the purchaser’s lawyers should check whether the mortgage company needs to be told so that a decision can be reached as to whether they are willing to proceed.