My wife and I are hoping to acquire a flat in Sandy and are in fact using a Sandy conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Godiva Mortgages Ltd have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Sandy solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Sandy solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

I need some fast conveyancing in Sandy as I am faced with a deadline to complete within 3 weeks. A home loan is not required. Can I escape the need for conveyancing searches to save money and time?

If.Given you are are a cash purchaser you are at free not to have searches conducted although no conveyancer would recommend that you don't. With lots of history conveyancing in Sandy the following are examples of issues that can appear and therefore impact future saleability: Refused Planning Applications, Outstanding Fees, Outstanding Grants, Unadopted Roads,...

We are a fortnight into a freehold purchase having been referred to solicitors by the selling agent to handle our conveyancing in Sandy. We are not happy. Can you you assist me in finding new solicitors?

They would need to be really poor to suggest changing them. Has the mortgage offer been issued? If so you need to make them aware of the replacement solicitor and ensure the mortgage documents are issued to the new lawyers. The conveyancer should be on the banks approved list to avoid escalating expenses and delays. So that should be your starting point. Our find a solicitor tool should help you find a lender approved conveyancer for your home move in Sandy

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £400,000 flat in Sandy next Tuesday. The management company has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Sandy?

Sandy conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves fees being levied by managing agents :

Addressing pre-contract questions Where consent is required before sale in Sandy Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Sandy Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Most Sandy leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the freeholder. If you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this liability, normally periodically accross the year. This may be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant figure, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. Generally speaking the cost for major works are not built into the maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Sandy require leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability?

How does one remove a departed person's name from the title deeds for a house in Sandy?

If a Sandy property is co-owned and one of the owners dies, the name will not automatically be removed from the Land Registry title. You are not required to remove their name as in the event of a disposal your lawyer would just be asked to supply proof why the co proprietor is not included in the conveyance, such as the probate documents.

With the aim of making things more straight forward for the sale of the property you may apply to have the deceased party erased from the title entries by submitting an application to the land registry with evidence of the death. There is no charge from the Registry for this service.