Are you able to vouch for a Clydesdale approved Winchelsea conveyancing conveyancer who can have us moved in within a short deadline? Am I best advised to unstruct a local Winchelsea firm or an internet conveyancer?

We can recommend some very good Winchelsea conveyancing firms. Another option is to visit the high street in Winchelsea. Visit two or three law practices and request to speak with a conveyancing solicitor for a fee estimate. Mention your requirements together with the reasons and ask for a commitment on speed. Choose the lawyer that appears most efficient.

We are purchasing a flat in Winchelsea. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we have to deposit our life savings into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

A colleague informed me that in purchasing a property in Winchelsea there could be a number of restrictions limiting what one can do in terms of external alterations to the property. Is this right?

There are anumerous of properties in Winchelsea which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Winchelsea should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

Having read lots of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Winchelsea solicitor - who is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?

Nationwide will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Nationwide will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Winchelsea surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

I am close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Winchelsea and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. Any local lawyer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers are using a factory type conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Winchelsea. Having lived in Winchelsea for six years we know that this is a non issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to get clarification that there is no issue.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm already. What do they say? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)

I am buying my first flat in Winchelsea with the aid of help to buy. The builders refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not inform my lawyer about the deal as it may put at risk my loan 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.

How does the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 affect my business property in Winchelsea and how can you help?

The 1954 Act affords security of tenure to business lessees, giving them the a statutory right to make a request to court for a continuation of occupancy at the end of the lease term. There are certain specified grounds that a landlord can refrain from granting a lease renewal and the rules are complicated. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Winchelsea is one of our numerous locations in which the firms we work with are based