It is is a decade since I acquired my home in Hersham. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been instructed on the sale but I am unable to locate the title documents. Is this a major issue?

Don’t worry too much. Firstly there is a possibility that the deeds will be retained by your mortgage company or they could be in the possession of the lawyers who handled your purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Hersham involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it is more problematic but is resolvable.

I had intended to instruct a property lawyer in Hersham for our house purchase. Our broker has since notified us that our mortgage company Norwich and Peterborough Building Society won't deal with them. Surely this is unduly restrictive?

A lender can insist on a panel solicitor act for it. You would be liable to bear the cost of this. Please make use of our database to select a solicitor to carry conveyancing in Hersham on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society member panel.

I am helping my step-mother sell her house in Hersham. Does the conveyancing solicitor arrange the EPC or it is for the owner to see to?

Following the abolition of Home Information Packs, EPC’s was left as a mandatory component of selling a house. An EPC must be to hand in advance of the property being marketed. It is not a task that solicitors normally organise. If you are using a Hersham conveyancing lawyer they might be able to arrange energy performance certificates given their contacts with reputable local accredited person

Is it the case that all Hersham CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel?

Some major banks and building societies now make use of the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.

I had an offer accepted on an apartment in Hersham on 3/12/2024, valuation was booked 2 days later, received a clean bill of health. Conveyancer instructed, 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?

Mortgage companies tend not to 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'm remortgaging my existing home to a buy to let loan with Platform Home Loans Ltd and I will use the rest of the raised equity as a deposit on further house. The area we are interested in is Hersham. Will your conveyancers be able to act for the two lenders and link together the conveyances?

Do use our comparison tool on this page to ensure that the conveyancers are on the appropriate lender panels. On the basis that they are your solicitor will be able to connect the two transactions but you should have a chat with you lawyer and make apparent your expectations and needs.

My solicitor in Hersham has requested from me ID documents saying that this is part of his legal duty as a solicitor on the bank Conveyancing panel. Can you confirm whether this is the case?

Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require Hersham conveyancing solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Client Care letter that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that the bank also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with the bank's UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements