Me and my wife are purchasing our first house. The solicitor has messagedto see if we want to purchase supplemental conveyancing searches. Unfortunately we have no idea as to what's recommended for conveyancing in Motspur Park

The extent of Motspur Park conveyancing searches should be dictated primarily on the property, the location, the possibility of any of these risks, your knowledge of the region and risks, your overall appetite to risk. What matters is that you adequately appreciate what information each search could provide. Then you can decide if you consider that you need that search. Where you are unclear, ask your solicitor to recommend.

We expect to receive a AIP from Yorkshire BS this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Yorkshire BS recommend any Motspur Park solicitors on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?

You will need to appoint Motspur Park solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Yorkshire BS through the process.

I have paid off my mortgage with RBS. I assume I don't need a Motspur Park lawyer on the RBS panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.

If you have finished paying off your RBS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the RBS mortgage from the register. RBS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where RBS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. RBS has instructed the Land Registry to do so

The mortgage over my property is with Santander for my property in Motspur Park. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Santander?

Santander must be informed of your intention prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Santander’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Santander directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Santander conveyancing panel lawyer.

I require quick conveyancing in Motspur Park as I am under a deadline to sign on the dotted line within one month. Fortunately I do not need a mortgage. Can I decline from having conveyancing searches to save money and time?

As you are are a cash buyer you are at free not to do searches although no lawyer would suggest that you don't. Drawing on years of experience of conveyancing in Motspur Park the following are instances of what can crop up and therefore affect the marketability of the property: Enforcement Notices, Overdue Fees, Overdue Grants, Unadopted Roads,...

I have a 4 bedroom Victorian house in Motspur Park. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and The Mortgage Works. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You should read 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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Motspur Park and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also check the position with your conveyancing lawyer who carried out the work.

I am purchasing my first flat in Motspur Park with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not reveal to my conveyancer about the deal as it could impact my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.

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.