As someone unfamiliar with conveyancing in Crawley Down what’s your top tip you can give me concerning the house moving process in Crawley Down

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Crawley Down or throughout England and Wales is an adversarial process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is lots of room for conflict between you and others involved in the home moving process. E.g., the seller, selling agent and even potentially a bank. Choosing a solicitor for your conveyancing in Crawley Down is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE person in the process whose role it is to protect your best interests and to keep you safe.

We are witnessing a definite ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone must be blamed for the process taking so long. We recommend that you should always trust your lawyer ahead of all other parties in the conveyancing process.

I had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Crawley Down for our house purchase. Our broker informed us that our mortgage company Virgin Money won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unduly restrictive?

A decade ago most lenders had a different appetite for risk. Almost all Crawley Down conveyancing firms would have been on most lender panels. The financial services regulator in 2010 completed a thematic investigation into mortgage fraud which concluded: mortgage lenders should know the conveyancing solicitors dealt with. Consequently, lenders are increasingly seeing more data from law firms regarding their operations and their employees and establishing certain criteria such a completing on a minimum amount of conveyancing. Many Crawley Down conveyancing firms that have been excluded from lender panels have a 100% healthy track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Crawley Down is one of the numerous locations where the solicitors we recommend are are authorised to act for Virgin Money.

I used Wolstenholmes several years past for my conveyancing in Crawley Down. I now require my papers however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

You should 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 Crawley Down of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

My husband and I are one month into a freehold purchase having been recommend to conveyancers by the estate agent to do our conveyancing in Crawley Down. I am not happy. Can you help me find new conveyancers?

A lawyer would need to be really poor to suggest changing them. Has the mortgage offer been sent? If so you need to advise them of the new contact details and ensure the offer are issued to the new lawyers. Your new conveyancer should be on the banks panel to avoid escalating costs and frustration. That should be your first question of the new solicitors. Our find a solicitor tool should help you find a lender approved lawyer for your home move in Crawley Down

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Crawley Down both have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena.

I am the registered owner of a 1st floor flat in Crawley Down, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Crawley Down with a long lease are worth £181,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2076

With 51 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £30,400 and £35,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.