My wife and I are hoping to acquire a flat in Wargrave and have instructed a Wargrave conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Chelsea Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Wargrave conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Wargrave solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

Why do I have to pay up front when it comes to conveyancing in Wargrave?

If you are buying a property in Wargrave your lawyer will ask you to provide them with funds to cover the search fees. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. If any down payment is as part of the total price then this should be required shortly ahead of contracts are exchanged. The closing balance that is due should be sent to your lawyer a few days prior to the completion date.

three months have elapsed following my purchase conveyancing in Wargrave completed. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 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 residence 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.

How does conveyancing in Wargrave differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Wargrave contact us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is completed. This is because house builders in Wargrave usually purchase the land, 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 conveyancers 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 used to new build conveyancing in Wargrave or who has acted in the same development.

I wish to sublet my leasehold flat in Wargrave. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

A small minority of properties in Wargrave do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

Wargrave Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Is there a share of the freehold? Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? What is the yearly service fee and ground rent?