My husband and I are acquiring a new build apartment in Virginia Water and my solicitor is advising me that she has to the bank to reveal incentives from the builder. I am on a tight deadline to exchange and I would rather not delay matters. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. 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 buying a 4 bedroom semi-detached house in Virginia Water. The intention is to carry out a loft conversion at the house.Will legal conveyancing on the property include enquiries to see if these alterations are allowed?

Your solicitor will review the registered title as conveyancing in Virginia Water can occasionally reveal restrictions in the title deeds which prevent certain works or require the permission of a 3rd party. Many additions need local authority planning permissions and approval in accordance building regulations. Many locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or impact extensions. It would be wise to check these issues with a surveyor before you commit yourself to a purchase.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Virginia Water. I have a mortgage agreed with UBS. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with UBS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the UBS conveyancing panel.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Virginia Water. My mortgage broker suggested a conveyancing practitioner. I paid an advanced payment of £175. A few days later, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me to say that they were not on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Virgin Money panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

How does conveyancing in Virginia Water differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Virginia Water approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is built. This is because developers in Virginia Water typically buy the real estate, 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 property lawyers 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 Virginia Water or who has acted in the same development.

I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Virginia Water I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Virginia Water suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.

Should one as executor remove a departed person's details from the title register for a property in Virginia Water?

Where a Virginia Water property is co-owned and one of the proprietors dies, the name will not automatically be removed from the title deeds. You are not required to remove their name as when it comes to a disposal you would simply be asked to evidence why the other owner is not a party to the transfer, such as a grant of probate.

With a view to making things more straight forward in the future you can arrange to have the deceased party erased from the title by applying to the land registry with evidence of the death. There is no fee from the Registry for this service.