Finally the sale completed on my house in Southam last March but the buyer keeps e-mailing every few hours to say their solicitor is waiting to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale legalities now that I have sold?

Following your house sale your solicitor should send the transfer documentation and all of the paperwork to the buyer’s lawyers. Depending on the transaction, your lawyer must also evidence that the mortgage has been discharged to the buyers solicitors. There are no post completion procedures specific conveyancing in Southam.

We have agreed to purchase a house in Southam. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Lloyds have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?

Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Lloyds your lawyer must check the conveyancing instructions outlined in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Lloyds. The CML Handbook sets out minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and conveyancing practitioners are required to report to Lloyds where a lease does not comply with these conditions. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not isolated to Southam.

I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Skipton. Is it usual for Skipton to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Southam is approved on their conveyancing panel? Skipton have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.

A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Skipton to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Skipton conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

After shopping around on the internet I have found a Southam conveyancer having checked that they are on the Lloyds conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Lloyds will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Lloyds will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Southam postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Lloyds, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Southam.

Will my solicitor be asking questions concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Southam.

Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors dealing with homes in Southam. There are those who acquire a property in Southam, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.

Conveyancers are not best placed to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a various checks that may be carried out by the buyer or by their solicitors which should give them a better understanding of the risks in Southam. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms supplied to a buyer’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a standard question of the seller to find out if the premises has historically flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not notified by the seller, then a purchaser could commence a compensation claim resulting from an misleading reply. The purchaser’s conveyancers should also conduct an enviro search. This will higlight whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, more detailed inquiries will need to be initiated.

I have justdiscovered that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Southam for a purchase of a leasehold flat 10 months ago. How can I establish that the property is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?

The easiest way to see if the premises is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Southam conveyancing specialists.

We yesterday become aware that one of the partners of the solicitors handling the purchase conveyancing in Southam is a relative of the seller. Is this permitted?

As long as there is no conflict of interest this should be fine. Where you are obtaining mortgage finance then the mortgage company may have a say as many banks have specific requirements concerning this. For example for Royal Bank of Scotland as of 16/7/2025, the requirements read as follows :