Our god-son is in the process of securing a newly built flat in Hove with a home loan from Clydesdale. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?

The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Clydesdale conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

We're in Hove, FTBs purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Nationwide , and our solicitor is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?

The fact that your lawyer is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no solicitor should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.

Should commercial conveyancing searches reveal proposed roadworks that could impact a commercial land in Hove?

Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Hove will order a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers expend in looking into accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Hove. The report provides definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Hove.

For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Hove it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. The absence of identifying developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately can result in delays to Hove commercial conveyancing transactions as well as pose a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not ordered for domestic conveyancing in Hove.

Have completed on a a terraced house in Hove , how long should it take for the Land Registry to record my proprietorship? My Hove conveyancing solicitor works at snail pace, so I want to be certain the post completion formalities are addressed.

There is nothing unique about conveyancing in Hove registration formalities. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timescales can vary according to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and if the Land registry communicate with any third persons or bodies. At present in the region of three quarters of submission are fully dealt with within two weeks but some can be subject to longer delays. Registration occurs after the purchaser is living at the property thus registration formalities is not always an essential issue yet where there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your conveyancer should contact the land registry and explain the circumstances.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Hove with the aid of help to buy. The builders would not move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about this deal as it will impact my mortgage with Yorkshire Building Society. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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.