Completed the sale of my flat in Sale last August but our buyer keeps SMS messaging daily to moan that his conveyancer needs to hear from mysolicitor. What are the post completion sale formalities following completion?

After completion of your house sale your solicitor is obliged to forward the transfer deeds and all additional paperwork to the purchaser's solicitors. If applicable, your conveyancer must also evidence that the home loan has been discharged to the buyers solicitors. There are no post completion tasks peculiar conveyancing in Sale.

I had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Sale for our house purchase. Our broker informed us that our bank Platform Home Loans Ltd won't deal with them. Surely this is unduly restrictive?

Mortgage Companies in the main restrict either the category or the volume of conveyancing practices on their panel. A common example of such criteria being that a law practice must not be a sole practitioner. In addition to restricting the profile of firm, some have limited the number of firms they permit to act for them. Be aware that Platform Home Loans Ltd have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Platform Home Loans Ltd Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the reduction of solicitor panels since 2008 even though there are differing views regarding the level of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Data from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms, including some in or near Sale only conduct a couple conveyances per annum.

My wife and I have a renovated Georgian property in Sale. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and Halifax. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You should assess 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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Sale and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the work.

I have recently realised that I have 62 years left on my lease in Sale. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Sale.

Sale Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Make sure you discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Sale. If you love the flatin Sale yet your dog is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a difficult choice. It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other major work is pending that will be shared by the leaseholders and will materially impact the level of the service charges or necessitate a one off invoice. Does this lease have more than 82 years unexpired?

I am purchasing a house mortgage free. I have provided conveyancer with 2 separate forms of photo ID, bank statement, multiple utility bills. Now he wants a copy from a probate lawyer stating that the funds are in order and that it has come from inheritance and not dealing E's in Ibiza.

For some years now requires conveyancing solicitors as well as banks, building societies and other financial institutes to obtain satisfactory evidence of the identity of the client. This is because solicitors who deal with money and property on behalf of their clients can be used by criminals wishing to launder money. In order to comply with the law of money laundering, your Sale conveyancing lawyer will need to obtain evidence of your identity as as well as make sure that your funds are legitimate.