Is the fact that my conveyancer in West Malling is not on my bank's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of his work?

It would not be wise to jump to that conclusion. There are plenty of plausible explanations. Just recently a report by the solicitors regulator revealed 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The most common reasons for removal are: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the West Malling conveyancing firm and enquire why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.

What is the first thing I need to know about purchase conveyancing in West Malling?

Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in West Malling and elsewhere in Kent is an adversarial process. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists lots of room for confrontation between you and other parties involved in the legal transfer of property. E.g., the vendor, estate agent and on occasion the mortgage company. Selecting a solicitor for your conveyancing in West Malling should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE person in the process whose role it is to protect your legal interests and to keep you safe.

We are witnessing a worrying ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone must be blamed for the process taking so long. You your first instinct should be to trust your solicitor above the other parties in the conveyancing process.

I am thinking of mortgaging my house in West Malling, does my lawyer have to be on the Aldermore Solicitor panel?

In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the Aldermore conveyancing panel, but Aldermore would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same conveyancing matter.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in West Malling?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in West Malling. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in West Malling. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in West Malling

Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Please supply a car parking plan. The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore.