We are due to move house in February. Will my conveyancing solicitor communicate with the removal company on the completion day. As an aside, can you suggest a removal company in Godalming. Conveyancing solicitor was organised prior to coming across your website.

On the afternoon of completion you can pick up the keys from your property agent but this should only happen once the previous owners solicitors confirm to the agent that they have the completion monies and the keys can be passed over. Subsequently you will need to tell the removal company that you are ready to move in. We are not in a position to suggest a particular removal company but can help you find a conveyancing in Godalming or a firm that specialises in conveyancing in Godalming.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Aldermore. I assume I don't need a Godalming conveyancing practitioner on the Aldermore panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your Aldermore mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Aldermore mortgage from the register. Aldermore, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Aldermore has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Aldermore has instructed the Land Registry to do so

I can not fathom if my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Godalming bank branch on numerous occasions and was reassured it wasn't a problem and they will lend. My Godalming conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they would not lend in accordance with their specific requirements. I simply don't know who is right.

As long as the conveyancer is on the mortgage company panel, they must follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook requirements for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

My partner and I are selling our house in Godalming and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. Any high street Godalming conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers instructed an internet conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Godalming. We have lived in Godalming for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Do we contact our local Authority to seek confirmation need.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing lawyer already. What do they say? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same ailment)

I used Wolstenholmes a few years past for my conveyancing in Godalming. I now require my papers but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate 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 Godalming of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

In my capacity as executor for the will of my grandfather I am disposing of a house in Newport but live in Godalming. My solicitor (approximately 260 kilometers awayrequires that I execute a statutory declaration prior to completion. Can you recommend a conveyancing solicitor in Godalming who can attest and place their company stamp on the document?

Technically speaking you should not be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are based in Godalming

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Godalming where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Godalming conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Godalming - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Does the lease have more than 82 years remaining? Are there any major works anticipated that could add a premium to the service charges? Most Godalming leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the building set on behalf of the management company. If you buy the property you will have to pay this liability, usually in instalments during the year. This can be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal areas. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a significant sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds.