It is 10 years ago since I acquired my house in Spalding. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been instructed on the sale but I can't locate my title deeds. Is this a major issue?

You need not be too concerned. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be with the mortgage company or they could be archived with the conveyancers who oversaw the purchase. Secondly in most cases the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Spalding involves registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.

A friend advised me that where I am purchasing in Spalding I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Spalding conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Spalding around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about Spalding.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £305k and found one close by in Spalding I like with amenity areas and station nearby, however it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Spalding for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?

Should you require a mortgage that many years will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for at least 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.

I have been advised by a number of selling agents in Spalding to get a quote from a property lawyer on your site. What’s the financial inducement for Estate Agents to offer your services rather than alternative conveyancing organisations?

We don’t give any commission for sending work to this site. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.

Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the mortgage company conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the bank approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?

Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the mortgage company conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the mortgage company solicitor panel.