It is a dozen years since I purchased my house in Birchington. Conveyancing solicitors have recently been retained on the sale but I am unable to locate the title documents. Will this cause complications?

You need not be too concerned. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be retained by the lender or they could be archived with the lawyers who handled your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Birchington relates to registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it is more tricky but is not insurmountable.

Please help - my lawyer says that missing deeds insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Birchington conveyancing?

The appropriate level of missing deeds indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between Nationwide Building Society and The Mortgage Works. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to members of the public take out such policies.

I have paid off my mortgage with UBS. I assume I don't need a Birchington property lawyer on the UBS panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.

If you have finished paying off your UBS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the UBS mortgage from the register. UBS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where UBS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. UBS has instructed the Land Registry to do so

It is unclear whether my bank obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Birchington bank branch on numerous occasions and was told it does not impact the mortgage offer and they would lend. My Birchington conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- called to say that they refuse to lend in accordance with their specific requirements. Who do I believe?

The solicitor must comply with the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook Part 2 requirements for your lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank 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 mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

I'm refinancing my primary property to a buy to let mortgage with Barclays and intend to use the remaining equity towards a second house. The location we are talking about is Birchington. Will your solicitors be able to act for both sets of lenders and tie in the transactions?

Make use of our search tool on this page to be sure that the lawyers are approved by both lenders. On the basis that they are your lawyer will be able to connect the two conveyancing matters but you should talk with you conveyancer and make clear your desired outcome and needs.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Birchington from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Birchington can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
Some Birchington leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Birchington conveyancing deal. Where a new share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. Many landlords or managing agents in Birchington charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Birchington.

Birchington Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

What is the length of the lease? The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

Me and my husband have just had a bid accepted on our first home in Birchington, and are now looking to get solicitors instructed. I have utilised the various rating tools and the quotes are from all across the the UK. Is it necessary to have a Birchington solicitor local to our potential property? I am happy to do all the communicating electronically, but I assume at some stage we will be required to attend the lawyer's office to sign papers?

There is no need to physically visit the office of your conveyancing practitioner, they can post any relevant documents to you, which you can sign and return. Many buyers and sellers nevertheless opt to instruct a locally based solicitor, but it's by no means essential for conveyancing in Birchington.