It is a dozen years since I purchased my house in Wootton Bridge. Conveyancing lawyers have now been retained on the sale but I am unable to locate the title documents. Is this a problem?

Don’t worry too much. First there is a chance that the deeds will be retained by your lender or they could be archived with the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Wootton Bridge relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it is more tricky but is resolvable.

I am buying my first flat in Wootton Bridge benefiting from help to buy. The builders refused to reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative suggested that I not inform my conveyancer about this extras as it would jeopardize my loan with the lender. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Wootton Bridge is the location of the property. What do you suggest?

Flying freeholds in Wootton Bridge are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Wootton Bridge you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Wootton Bridge may determine 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 wife and I may need to sub-let our Wootton Bridge garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Wootton Bridge conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

The lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Wootton Bridge do not prevent subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Wootton Bridge - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Is there a share of the freehold? Who is in charge of the building? For many Wootton Bridge leaseholds the outlay for major works are not included within service charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Wootton Bridge ask tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major works.

Are there any apps to help find a Wootton Bridge conveyancing solicitor on the mortgage company conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 15kilometers to meet the conveyancer.

You can use the find a conveyancing panel tool on this website. Please choose the lender and your location, in this case Wootton Bridge and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest Wootton Bridge. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the bank solicitor panel.