It is 10 years ago since I acquired my property in Shaw. Conveyancing solicitors have now been retained on the sale but I am unable to locate my title documents. Is this a major issue?

Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be kept by the lender or they could be in the possession of the lawyers who acted in the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Shaw involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.

How can we tell if a Shaw conveyancing solicitor on the Aldermore panel is any good?

When it comes to conveyancing in Shaw obtaining recommendations is a sensible starting point. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always recommend that you speak with the lawyer conducting your conveyancing.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Shaw. I have a mortgage offer with Kent Reliance. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Kent Reliance, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel.

I currently have a mortgage with Barclays for my property in Shaw. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Barclays?

You must advise Barclays prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Barclays’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 Barclays directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Barclays conveyancing panel lawyer.

I opted to have a survey carried out on a property in Shaw ahead of retaining lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. My surveyor has said that some banks may refuse to grant a loan on a flying freehold premises.

It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different requirements for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further with the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Shaw. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Shaw to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Shaw ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Shaw conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

A lease governs relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Shaw do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Shaw Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Is there a share of the freehold?

My step-son is just in the process of moving house, the home loan was agreed last week in principle. One the offer was accepted on flat we rang the building society to issue the formal offer. I was disappointed to hear that mortgage lenders do not accept all property lawyer, they need to be on their approved list, is this correct?

Mortgage Companies ordinarily imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that lenders have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any Shaw solicitor on their panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, conveyancing is not their speciality. To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime? Probably not.