IfI was to acquire a simple residential propertyin West Malling mortgage fee and dispense with a survey and no conveyancing searches how much could I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in West Malling?

The sole reduction in fees you would achieve is the costs for searches. Your solicitor still got to do everything else - money laundering, correspond with the sellers conveyancing practitioner, SDLT return, register the property etc. A slight saving might be made by not needing to register a mortgage but it won't be significant.

We are buying a detached bungalow in West Malling. Our aim is to convert the garage to an office at the house.Will the conveyancing process involve investigations to ascertain if these alterations are allowed?

Your property lawyer should check the registered title as conveyancing in West Malling will occasionally reveal restrictions in the title deeds which restrict categories of alterations or require the permission of another owner. Many extensions call for local authority planning consent and approval under the building regulations. Certain areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or affect extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.

The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in West Malling. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?

Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.

I had an offer accepted on a property in West Malling on 1/3/2024, valuation was booked 3 days after, all came back fine. Solicitor appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to UBS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the UBS conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?

A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for UBS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the UBS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I have been on the look out for a flat up to £305k and identified one close by in West Malling I like with amenity areas and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in West Malling suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?

If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.

How difficult is it to change solicitor as I have to appoint a firm on the Yorkshire Building Society conveyancing list. I was using a local conveyancing solicitor in West Malling five minutes from me but the firm is not accepted by Yorkshire Building Society

It would be our pleasure to help you find a conveyancing solicitor in West Malling on the Yorkshire Building Society panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we list do not pay us commission if you instruct them and are fully regulated by the SRA who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in West Malling. In utilising search facility on this website, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in West Malling.

My husband and I are 17 days into a leasehold purchase having been referred to solicitors by the local agent to carry out the conveyancing in West Malling. I am not happy. Could you help me find new conveyancers?

A lawyer would have to be really bad in order to consider changing them. Has your mortgage been generated? In the event that it has you need to make them aware of the new contact details and have the offer are re-sent. The solicitor ideally should be on the banks panel to avoid supplemental charges and complications. That should be your first question of the new lawyers. The find a solicitor tool should assist you in finding a lender approved conveyancer for your home move in West Malling