I have given 2 months notice to my current landlord and have to vacate my let out property in Bexleyheath by 24/12/2024. Conveyancing for my house purchase is underway. Is it possible to complete in 5 weeks as don't want to have to find short term accommodation?

Generally one should not serve notice for your tenancy until your lawyer suggests that you should. If you have not already done so, update to your lawyer and request that they seek the assistance the owners side, try to get a realistic time scale from them that everyone will look towards

My property lawyer in Bexleyheath is not on the Virgin Money Approved Panel. Is it possible for me to continue with my prefered solicitor notwithstanding that they are excluded from the Virgin Money list of approved lawyers?

Your options are as follows:

1. Carry on with your existing Bexleyheath lawyers but Virgin Money will need to instruct a conveyancer on their panel. This will inevitably rack up the total legal charges and cause delays.
2. Find a new practitioner to to deal with the purchase, not forgetting to check they are on the Virgin Money panel

Is it the case that all Bexleyheath CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Kent Reliance conveyancing list of approved practices?

It is true that some banks and building societies now utilise the accreditation scheme as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their panels.

We previously instructed solicitors based in Bexleyheath on the Nationwide solicitor panel. They are now charging me a separate charge for the legal aspects of the Nationwide mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Nationwide?

Provided it is contained in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your lawyer can levy a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Nationwide but by your Bexleyheath property lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Nationwide panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but some firms include it on their overall fee.

After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Bexleyheath. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an upfront payment of £225. A couple of days later, the solicitor contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Nottingham conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Nottingham panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

My colleague advised me that where I am buying in Bexleyheath I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Bexleyheath conveyancing searches. It is not a small document of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Bexleyheath 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 type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime statistics, Bexleyheath Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Bexleyheath.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Bexleyheath. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Bexleyheath

Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal.