I am buying a house and the solicitor has raised the issue of Chancel Repair to which the house may be liable given it’s proximity to the area of such a church. She has mentioned insurance. Is this strictly appropriate for conveyancing in Hackney

Unless a prior purchase of the property took place post 12 October 2013 you may assume that solicitors carrying out conveyancing in Hackney to remain recommending a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

My wife and I purchased a semi-detached Edwardian property in Hackney. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Nottingham Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw a couple of entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Hackney and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with your conveyancing lawyer who completed the work.

I am purchasing my first flat in Hackney with a loan from Lloyds TSB Bank. The sellers would not move on the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The property agent advised me not reveal to my solicitor about the extras as it would impact my loan with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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 issue on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Hackney is the location of the property. Can you offer any guidance?

Flying freeholds in Hackney are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Hackney you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Hackney may ascertain 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 residence.

What does commercial conveyancing in Hackney cover?

Non domestic conveyancing in Hackney incorporates a wide range of advice, supplied by regulated solicitors, relating to business premises. For instance, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more usually, the assignment of existing leases or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of leases.