I am buying residence in Lound. My Conveyancer is not on the bank approved panel. Am I still permitted to retain my Lound conveyancing solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the mortgage company panel?

You have numerous choices open to you here

• Complete the deal with your preferred Lound solicitor but your bank will no doubt appoint a conveyancing practitioner on their conveyancing panel. The net result is additional fees together with likely interruption.
• Appoint a fresh conveyancing practitioner to act in the purchase, obviously checking they are on the bank conveyancing panel.
• Convince your lawyer to do everything within their powers to get accepted on the lender’s panel of solicitors

Our nephew is purchasing a newly built flat in Lound with a home loan from Barclays. His lawyer has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?

The document is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Barclays conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Barclays conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

My friend suggested that where I am purchasing in Lound I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Lound conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about Lound around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Lound Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Lound Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Lound.

Just acquired a semi-detached house in Lound , how long will it take for the Land Registry to record my ownership? My Lound conveyancing solicitor works at snail pace, so I want to be certain the registration is dealt with.

As far as conveyancing in Lound registration is no quicker or slower than the rest of the country. As opposed to being determined by geographic area, timeframes can adjust subject to the party submitting the application, whether it is in order and if the Land registry communicate with any interested parties. Currently roughly 80% of such applications are fully addressed within two weeks but occasionally there can be longer delays. Registration is effected once the new owner is living at the property thus an expedited registration is not typically an essential issue but if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your conveyancer could communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for an expedited registration.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Lound. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Lound who previously acted has now retired. Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Lound conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Lound Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Is there a share of the freehold? It would be prudent to discover as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they can either make your life much easier or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues like the tidiness of the common parts. Ask prospective neighbours what they think of them. Finally, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the relevant party and precisely what you get for your money. The answer will be useful as a) areas can cause problems in the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have all the details