Completed the sale of my flat in March last April but my buyer keeps e-mailing daily complaining that their lawyer needs to hear from mine. What should have happened following completion?

After completion of your sale your lawyer should forward the transfer documentation and all supplemental paperwork to the purchaser's solicitors. Where relevant, your lawyer must also confirm that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been repaid to the purchasers conveyancers. There is unlikely to be post completion steps unique to conveyancing in March.

My bid for a property was accepted at auction in March. Conveyancing is required. What are my next steps?

Now that you are to in every practical sense signed on the dotted line you will need to choose a conveyancing practitioner quickly as you are faced with a fast approaching a drop dead date to complete the transaction. All auction property will have a corresponding legal set of papers. This should include evidence of title and search results. Where you are dealing with leasehold premises the conveyancing pack should include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and associated conveyancing paperwork pertinent to a leasehold property. You need to give this to your appointed conveyancing solicitor as soon as possible. Do make sure that that you have the requisite funding organised to complete on the date specified in the contract.

I am the sole beneficiary of my late grandmother’s estate and I have everything in my name now, including the house in March. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in July. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', which means that my property ownership could be considered the same way as if I'd bought the house in July. Is the property unsalable for six months?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook mandates conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you could be affected by that. Most banks would take a pragmatic view as this clause principally exists to pick up on subsales or the quick reselling of properties.

It is unclear whether my lender obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my March bank branch on a couple of occasions and was told it does not affect the mortgage offer and they will lend. My March conveyancing solicitor - who is on the lender conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their published requirements. Who do I believe?

The property lawyer must comply with the CML Handbook section two requirements for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender 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 lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

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

This is a search is sometimes included in the estimate for your March conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about March around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the March Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, March Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information regarding March.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in March?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in March. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

If instructed can a conveyancer remove a name from the title of my home in March ?

Subtracting or adding someone to the title of your house is relatively straightforward. You’ll need to appoint a conveyancer to discuss your legal rights before you can proceed with a transfer of property. Contact us to book a free consultation with one a lawyer