This question may be naive but I am new to the home buying as a first time buyer of a garden flat in Meopham. Do I receive the keys to the premises on completion from my conveyancer? If this is the case, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Meopham?

On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Meopham. Your solicitors will arrange to send the purchase money to the vendor’s lawyers, and once they have received this, you will be invited to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.

Is it the case that all Meopham solicitors on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Kent Reliance approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the SRA. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in June 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Yorkshire BS are being problematic. The Meopham solicitor who is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Yorkshire BS are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Yorkshire BS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Yorkshire BS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Yorkshire BS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

Should commercial conveyancing searches reveal impending roadworks that may impact a commercial property in Meopham?

Many commercial conveyancing solicitors in Meopham will perform a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers spend in investigating accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Meopham. The report sets out definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Meopham.

For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Meopham it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately could cause delays to Meopham commercial conveyancing deals as well as present a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not ordered for residential conveyancing in Meopham.

How does conveyancing in Meopham differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in Meopham contact us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is ready to move into. This is because house builders in Meopham typically acquire the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Meopham or who has acted in the same development.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Meopham. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Meopham who acted for me is not around. What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Meopham conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Meopham Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

What is the the remaining lease term? It would be wise to investigate if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Meopham. If you like the flatin Meopham but your cat can’t live with you then you will be presented with a difficult determination. Most Meopham leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for maintenance of the building levied by the freeholder. If you buy the flat you will have to meet this liability, normally quarterly accross the year. This could be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent to be met annual, normally this is not a large sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to enquire as occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds.

We are in the process of purchasing a apartment in Meopham. Conveyancing is not over but we wish to keep the amount we are are purchasing for a secret from sites such as Rightmove. what can I do to make sure this is not disclosed?

HMLR as a matter of law required to specify price paid data on the official title for residential properties nationwide which includes homes in Meopham. The register of title is an open document, so HMLR would be breaking the law if they did not grant access to the register.

In essence you can make a request of the Land Registry to hide the price paid data yet the answer would be in the negative.