I can't travel far from Coventry. I would like to know the understand why all Coventry solicitors aren't included on all bank panels?

Banks ordinarily restrict either the type or volume of conveyancing firms on their panel. A common example of such criteria being that a firm is required to have at least two partners. In addition to restricting the nature of firm, some building societies decided to reduce the number of organisations they permit to act for them. It is worth noting that banks have no responsibility for the accuracy of conveyancing supplied by any Coventry solicitor on their panel. Property fraud was the main trigger for the rationalisation of solicitor panels a few years ago notwithstanding that there are conflicting assessments about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics published by HMLR indicates that thousands of law organisations only transact a couple of conveyances a year. Those advocating conveyancing panel pruning question why law firms deserve claim to remain on a conveyancing panel when it is apparent that conveyancing is not their primary expertise?

A friend recommended that if I am purchasing in Coventry I should ask my conveyancer to perform a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is occasionally included in the estimate for your Coventry conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Coventry around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Coventry.

Are there any apps to help identify a Coventry law firm on the Aldermore conveyancing panel? I have a car and am willing to travel upto 20miles to meet the solicitor.

You can use the search on this page. Please choose the bank and your location and you will see a number of Coventry conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have listed some Coventry conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can call them to verify whether they are on the Aldermore approved list

Should I go with a Coventry conveyancing lawyer based in the area that I am buying? An old friend can perform the legal work however they are based over three hundred kilometers drive away.

The primary upside of using a local Coventry conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to execute documents, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local insight which is a plus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and on the whole were impressed that must trump using an unknown Coventry conveyancing solicitor just because they are Coventry based.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Coventry with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Coventry can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale. If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Coventry conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Coventry - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Are there any major works in the near future that could increase the service fees? The majority of Coventry leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the block invoiced on behalf of the landlord. Where you buy the flat you will have to meet this amount, usually quarterly accross the year. This can be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common areas. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a significant amount, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to enquire as occasionally it can be surprisingly expensive. It would be prudent to find out as much as you can regarding the company managing the block as they can either make life much easier or problematic. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day matters like the cleanliness of the communal areas. You should not be afraid to ask other people whether they are happy with their service. On a final note, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the relevant party and precisely what it includes.