My son-in-law is about to exchange on a new build apartment in Usk with a home loan from Bank of Ireland. His lawyer has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?

The document 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 Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when asked. 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 Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

What will a local search tell me concerning the house I am purchasing in Usk?

Usk conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations such as Searches UK The local search is essential in every Usk conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search should supply information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject sections.

I am purchasing my first flat in Usk with a loan from Platform Home Loans Ltd. The builders refused to reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about this extras as it would affect my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.

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.

Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Usk in advance of appointing conveyancers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some lenders will not grant a loan on this type of house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions from Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Usk. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Usk to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

I was recommended by a few property agents in Usk to find a property lawyer using your seach tool. Is there a financial advantage for Estate Agents to market your services ahead of a competitor’s?

We don’t give any commission for sending work to this site. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission because home movers will think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.