Will my lawyer be raising questions regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Penistone.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors conducting conveyancing in Penistone. Plenty of people will acquire a property in Penistone, fully expectant that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.

Solicitors are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous checks that may be initiated by the buyer or by their solicitors which can give them a better appreciation of the risks in Penistone. The standard completed inquiry forms supplied to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) contains a usual inquiry of the vendor to find out if the premises has suffered from flooding. In the event that the residence has been flooded in past and is not notified by the vendor, then a buyer may commence a claim for damages stemming from an inaccurate reply. The buyer’s lawyers will also carry out an enviro report. This will indicate if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries should be conducted.

It has been five months following my purchase conveyancing in Penistone completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

I am looking for a conveyancing solicitor in Penistone for my sale. Is it possible to see a firm’s complaints history with the profession’s regulator?

Members of the public can search for published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from investigations from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's record, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For non-uk callers, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA may recorded call for training reasons.

Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold house in Penistone. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Penistone who previously acted has now retired. Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Penistone conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Penistone Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

What is the service charge and ground rent on the property? It would be prudent to discover as much as you can regarding the company managing the block as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues such as the cleanliness of the communal areas. Don't be afraid to ask other tenants what they think of their service. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the service charges are due to the appropriate party and specifically what it includes. If a Penistone lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are content with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will probably need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the residence for 24 months before you are legally able to carry out a lease extension.

My wife and I are purchasing a ground floor flat in Penistone. At the point of instructing our solicitor, they said that they were on all major UK mortgage company panels. Our mortgage broker contacted us today to advise that they are not on the Skipton approved list. If it turns out to be true, what should we do? Should we simply choose a different conveyancer that is on their panel or should we cover the costs for separate representation, with Skipton appointing their own preferred property lawyer.

When buying a property with mortgage finance it is normal for the purchaser’s lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a lawyer has to be on that lender's list of approved lawyers. An application has to be made by the lawyer to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the conveyancer has to meet. Some mortgage companies now require their panel firms to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your conveyancer should call Skipton and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on Skipton's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Penistone lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.