It is a dozen years since I acquired my property in St John's Wood. Conveyancing lawyers have just been retained on the sale but I can't track down my title documents. Will this cause complications?

Don’t worry too much. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by your mortgage company or they could stored with the conveyancers who oversaw the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in St John's Wood relates to registered property but in the rare situation where your property is unregistered it is more of a problem but is resolvable.

Should commercial conveyancing searches reveal impending roadworks that may affect a commercial site in St John's Wood?

Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in St John's Wood will carry out a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers expend in researching accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in St John's Wood. The report sets out definitive data on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in St John's Wood.

For every commercial conveyancing transaction in St John's Wood it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. The absence of identifying developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately can cause delays to St John's Wood commercial conveyancing deals as well as present a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not conducted for residential conveyancing in St John's Wood.

I have todayfound out that Stirling Law have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in St John's Wood for a purchase of a freehold house 18 months ago. How can I check that my home is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest method to check if the property is in your name, 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 St John's Wood conveyancing specialists.

How does conveyancing in St John's Wood differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in St John's Wood contact us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is constructed. This is because new home sellers in St John's Wood tend to acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in St John's Wood or who has acted in the same development.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. St John's Wood is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in St John's Wood are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside St John's Wood you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds thoroughly. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in St John's Wood may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.