What is the first thing I need to know regarding purchase conveyancing in Chobham?

Not many law firms or advisers will tell you this but conveyancing in Chobham and elsewhere in England and Wales is often a confrontational process. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists lots of opportunity for friction between you and other parties involved in the ownership transfer. E.g., the vendor, selling agent and even potentially the mortgage company. Selecting a lawyer for your conveyancing in Chobham is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY person in the process whose responsibility is to look after your best interests and to keep you safe.

There is a worrying creep of a "blame" culture- someone must be blamed for the process taking so long. You your first instinct should be to trust your solicitor above the other players in the home moving process.

There are plenty of conveyancing solicitors in Chobham but how do I know who's good?

We would encourage you not to go for the lowest Chobham conveyancing quote. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.

This question may be naive but I am new to the house moving as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Chobham. Do I pick up the keys to the property on completion from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will use a local conveyancing solicitor in Chobham?

On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Chobham. Your solicitors will arrange to send the purchase money to the owner’s solicitors, and once they have received this, you should be invited to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this happens early afternoon.

Can you point me to a directory of Clydesdale panel conveyancers in Chobham on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?

Unfortunately not yet. There is no such facility on the CML or Building Society Association sites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available over the internet. If you are looking for a Chobham lawyer on the Clydesdale please make the most of our tool.

Should I instruct a Chobham conveyancing practitioner in close proximity to the house I am buying? I have an old university friend who can conduct the legal work but his firm is located 200miles away.

The primary upside of using a local Chobham conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to execute paperwork, present your ID and apply pressure on them if necessary. Having local Chobham know how is a benefit. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who instructed your friend and they were content that must trump using an unfamiliar Chobham conveyancing lawyer just because they are based in the area.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Chobham where we see a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Chobham conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Chobham - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Its a good idea to find out as much as possible regarding the company managing the block as they will either make your life much simpler or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you are often at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical matters such as the tidiness of the common parts. Enquire of other tenants what they think of them. Finally, be sure you understand the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and specifically how they are spending that money. What is the length of the lease?

What range of conveyancing services do Chobham conveyancing solicitors typically advise on?

For the most part Chobham conveyancing practices can carry out a number of services to residential and rural land owners, vendors, buyers, freeholders and tenants including the following:

House sale conveyancing in Chobham and throughout the rest of the country Residential purchase conveyancing in Chobham and further afield Conveyancing for builders and developers Estate Conveyancing Islamic Compliant Finance including sales, purchases and refinances General property advice