I am in a contract race with another prospective purchaser for a property in Hastings. What can I do to speed up matters?

First, If the seller is applying a tight deadline to sign contracts it is highly recommended that your conveyancer is familiar with the location as they will make use of local connections and know-how. It is possible that they may have handled previousproperties in the same neighbourhood. You would be best advised to use a Hastings conveyancing solicitor. Second, ensure that the conveyancing firm is on the lender panel. It is understood that 18% of Hastings conveyancing transactions are held up or derailed after discovering a buyer’s lawyer was not on their banks member panel. In many cases this discovery resulted in the transaction being delayed by an average of three weeks. It is said that this issue impacts in the region of 100,000 home moves annually. Many Hastings conveyancing practices can not act for certain banks so do check at the outset.

Is it the case that all Hastings CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Co-operative conveyancing list of approved firms?

Some major banks and building societies now use CQS as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.

We previously selected conveyancing lawyers located in Hastings on the Clydesdale solicitor panel. They are now charging me a further sum for dealing with the Clydesdale mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Clydesdale?

Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your property lawyer can charge a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by Clydesdale but by your Hastings property lawyer. Numerous firms on the Clydesdale panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.

I have paid off my mortgage with Principality. I assume I don't need a Hastings solicitor on the Principality panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your Principality 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 Principality mortgage from the register. Principality, 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 Principality has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Principality has instructed the Land Registry to do so

I am buying a house and the conveyancer has referenced Chancel Repair for which the property may be liable given it’s proximity to the area of such a church. He has mentioned insurance. Is this strictly appropriate for conveyancing in Hastings

Unless a previous purchase of the premises completed after 12 October 2013 you can assume that conveyancing practitioners delivering conveyancing in Hastings to remain recommending a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.

Hoping to buy a property located in Hastings and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Hastings. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Hastings area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Hastings. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

I am hoping to complete next month on a leasehold property in Hastings. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Hastings should include some of the following:

Specifying your rights in respect of the communal areas in the building.For instance, does the lease include a right of way over a path or hallways? Where does the liability rest for repairing the window frames Repair and maintenance of the flat You should receive a copy of the lease Rent payments - what is due and when is collected, and also know whether this will change in the future

Hastings Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Where a Hastings lease has fewer than eighty years it will affect the value of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. For most Hastingslease extensions you will be be obliged to have owned the residence for a couple of years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension. You will want to find out as much as possible concerning the company managing the block as they can either make your living at the property much easier or a lot more difficult. As the owner of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical matters such as the cleanliness of the common parts. Enquire of other people if they are happy with them. Finally, find out the dates that the service charges are due to the relevant party and specifically how they are spending the funds. How much is the ground rent and service charge?