Is it realistic for conveyancing in Reading to be concluded within 3 weeks?

Where the seller is applying a tight deadline to complete it is advisable to make sure that your lawyer is familiar with the area as they will make use of local connections and intelligence. It is possible that they may have handled previoushouses in the same road. Therefore consider using a Reading conveyancing lawyer. Second, double check that the conveyancing firm is on the lender panel. It is said that nearly one in five of Reading conveyancing transactions are delayed or derailed after discovering a purchaser’s solicitor was not on their mortgage lender’s member panel. In many cases this discovery resulted in the buying process being delayed by as much as 21 days. It is believed that this issue affects approximately one hundred thousand home sales every year. Most Reading conveyancing firms can not act for certain lenders so do check as early as possible.

Can you help - my lawyer advises that chancel insurance is required on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Reading conveyancing?

The appropriate level of chancel indemnity insurance should be dictated by who your lender. It would differ for example between Santander and The Royal Bank of Scotland. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to borrowers take out such insurances.

The mortgage over my property is with Lloyds for my property in Reading. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Lloyds?

Lloyds must be informed of your intention prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Lloyds’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Lloyds directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Lloyds conveyancing panel firm.

Skipton have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a flat in Reading has been accepted, what happens next?

The estate agent will wish to be advised as to your lawyer's details (ensure that the property lawyers are on the lender’s panel). Call up Skipton or the broker and finalise any outstanding paperwork. Skipton will appoint a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or owners to arrange a time for the valuation to happen. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a fortnight for the mortgage offer to be issued. Skipton will issue the offer to you and your conveyancers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Reading.

I have a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Reading. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Godiva Mortgages Ltd. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Reading and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the position with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.

What tools are available to identify a Reading solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel? I have a car and am willing to travel upto 25kilometers to meet the lawyer.

You can use the facility on this website. Please select a bank and your location and you will see a number of Reading conveyancing lawyers located nearest you. We have detailed some Reading conveyancing firms at the bottom of this page and you can contact them to verify if they are on the Clydesdale approved list

How easy is it to change a solicitor as I need to find a Reading based conveyancer who is on the lender conveyancing panel. Is it practical to instruct different lawyers?

If you haven't yet appointed a conveyancer to do anything for you and at this stage simply received an estimate as to costs, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer in Reading that you're considering.