What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Stanwick? What am I being asked for?

Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering regulations require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the ID of the person or body they are dealing with prior to agreeing to accepting their conveyancing instruction. The Terms of Engagement that you are required to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lender will also require certain documents to be viewed. If you refuse to provide identification documents, your conveyancer can not take you on as a client.

My aunt pointed out to me me that in purchasing a property in Stanwick there could be a number of restrictions as to what one can do in terms of external alterations to a property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in Stanwick which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Stanwick should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

is it true that all Stanwick solicitor firms on the Lloyds conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Lloyds approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Some mortgage companies do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the firms would be regulated by the CLC.

I can not fathom if my lender obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my Stanwick building society branch on numerous occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they would lend. My Stanwick conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they refuse to lend in accordance with their specific requirements. I simply don't know who is right.

The conveyancing practitioner must follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook section two provisions for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

My friend suggested that if I am purchasing in Stanwick I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

This is a search is usually included in the estimate for your Stanwick conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out important information about Stanwick around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Stanwick Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Stanwick.

five months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Stanwick took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the premises from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

Should one as executor remove a departed person's details from the title register for a property in Stanwick?

If a Stanwick property is co-owned and one of the proprietors dies, the name will not immediately be removed from the title deeds. It is not necessary to remove their name as when it comes to a sale your lawyer would just be asked to supply proof why the other owner is missing from the conveyance, typically this is in the form of the probate documents.

With the aim of making things smoother in the future you can apply to have the deceased party removed from the title register by applying to HMLR with evidence of the death. There is no land registry fee payable.