Completed the sale of my flat in Barking last June but the buyer keeps calling daily to say his solicitor needs to hear from mysolicitor. What should have happened following completion?

Following your disposal your lawyer should deliver the transfer documentation and all of the paperwork to the buyer’s conveyancer. Where relevant, your conveyancer must also confirm that the home loan has been repaid to the buyers lawyers. There is unlikely to be post completion procedures peculiar conveyancing in Barking.

A relative informed me that in buying a property in Barking there could be a number of restrictions preventing external alterations to a property. Is this right?

We are aware of anumerous of properties in Barking which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Barking should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

I'm the only recipient of my late father’s estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Barking. The Barking property was put into my name in June. I want to move. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship could be regarded the same way as if I'd bought the property in June. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?

The CML handbook instructs solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be affected by that. many banks would take a practical view as this obligation is principally there to pick up on the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of properties.

I had a mortgage agreed in principle with Nottingham. Barking conveyancing practitioners have been selected. How long does it take for Nottingham to issue the offer to the property lawyer?

Some lenders take longer than others. Have Nottingham done the valuation? Have you informed Nottingham as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Nottingham conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

I'm buying my first flat in Barking with a mortgage from Accord Mortgages Ltd. The developers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep advised me not reveal to my lawyer about this deal as it will put at risk my loan with Accord Mortgages Ltd. 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.

I was advised by a couple of local property agents in Barking to choose a property lawyer on your site. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to market your lawyers over and above a competitor’s?

We refuse to give any commission for sending work our way. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission as members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.

I purchased a house in Barking last 13/4/2023 and to date it is still not registered with HMLR. It is part of a development site and my property lawyer told me that it can take over a year to register. I have contacted HMLR directly and they say that the original application was cancelled due to failure to reply to requisitions. Do I need to be concerned?

It is your solicitor that you really need to contact in order to satisfy any questions which have arisen as part of the registration process for your Barking property. Normal Barking conveyancing practice includes an undertaking on the part of the previous owner’s conveyancing practitioner that they will assist in resolving any requirements raised by HMLR so it may be a case of taking action to enforce that undertaking in some way.