Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my conveyancer in Belper is not on my mortgage company's conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the quality of her work?

That is more than likely an incorrect assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly plausible explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated that over three quarters of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the Belper conveyancing practice and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your mortgage company.

I used Wolstenholmes a few years ago for my conveyancing in Belper. I now require my papers however the law firm has closed. What do I do?

Do contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Belper of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I'm converting the mortgage on my primary house to a buy to let mortgage with TSB and intend to use the remaining equity as a down payment on another property. The location we are talking about is Belper. Will your conveyancers be able to act for the two lenders and tie in the two deals?

Make use of our search tool on this site to be sure that the conveyancers are on the relevant lender panels. Having checked that they are the solicitor should be able to connect the two deals but you should talk with you conveyancer and make apparent your desired outcome and requirements.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £325,000 garden flat in Belper next Monday. The freeholder has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Belper?

Belper conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually results in administration charges levied by managing agents :

Answering conveyancing due diligence questions Where consent is required before sale in Belper Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Leasehold Conveyancing in Belper - Sample of Queries before buying

You should be aware if it is fewer than 80 years it will impact the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the residence for two years in order to be eligible to exercise a lease extension. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? For many Belper leaseholds the cost for major works are not included within maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Belper require tenants to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for major repairs or maintenance.

The lawyers handling our conveyancing in Belper has forwarded papers to review that reveal that the property is unregistered with epitome documents. Surely all property in Belper should be registered?

Although most properties in Belper are now registered with HMLR there are still some that are unregistered. Any property in Belper that has been remortgaged since the late 1980’s will have been registered at the Land Registry under the compulsory ‘first registration’ scheme. However, if a Belper property has not changed hands in that time then it’s likely the old fashioned title deeds will be the only evidence of ownership.Many Belper conveyancing lawyers should be able to handle such matters but where uncertainty reigns the prevailing guidance presently is for the current owners to deal with the registration formalities first and then sell - this undoubtedly cause a drawn-out home move.