It is a dozen years since I bought my house in Kenilworth. Conveyancing lawyers have now been appointed on the sale but I can't locate my deeds. Will this jeopardise the sale?

You need not be too concerned. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be with the mortgage company or they may stored with the conveyancers who handled your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Kenilworth involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.

This question may be naive but I am unexperienced as FTB of a garden flat in Kenilworth. Do I collect the keys to the premises on completion from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will instruct a local conveyancing solicitor in Kenilworth?

On the day of completion you do not need to attend the conveyancers office in Kenilworth. Conveyancing lawyers for you will arrange to send the purchase money to the seller'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 occurs early afternoon.

When it comes to mortgage companies such as UBS, do Kenilworth conveyancing practitioners face a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are not aware of any bank fees to register on their panel, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

We have agreed to purchase a house in Kenilworth. A rare aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Barclays be concerned?

As your lender is Barclays your lawyer must check the formal instructions contained in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Barclays. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook contains minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to Barclays where a lease fails to satisfy these specifications. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not restricted to Kenilworth.

I have been told that property searches are the main reason for delay in Kenilworth house deals. Is that correct?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the most frequent causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Searches are not likely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Kenilworth.

Me and my brother have a terraced Edwardian property in Kenilworth. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and The Mortgage Works. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Kenilworth and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who completed the work.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Kenilworth conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kenilworth conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggest that you talk with several firms including non Kenilworth conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be of use:

If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

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

It is important to be aware if changing the roof or some other major work is due shortly that will be shared by the tenants and could well materially increase the the maintenance charges or result in a specific payment. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability? Plenty Kenilworth leasehold apartments will have a service bill for the upkeep of the building invoiced by the freeholder. Where you acquire the flat you will have to meet this liability, usually quarterly accross the year. This could differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, normally this is not a large figure, say around £25-£75 but you should to enquire as sometimes it can be prohibitively expensive.