Finally the sale completed on my house in Kidsgrove last March yet the purchaser is calling daily to say his conveyancer is waiting to hear from mine. What are the post completion sale formalities now that I have sold?

Following your sale your solicitor is committed to send the transfer deeds and all of the paperwork to the purchaser's lawyers. Where appropriate, your solicitor must also evidence that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been redeemed to the buyers conveyancers. There are no post completion tasks unique to conveyancing in Kidsgrove.

I am selling my house in Kidsgrove. Does the conveyancing practitioner have to be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Nottingham conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently currently.

If you had a top tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Kidsgrove what would it be?

Do not opt for the lowest Kidsgrove conveyancing fees. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to property lawyers. 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.

I'm the only beneficiary of my late grandmother’s estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Kidsgrove. The Kidsgrove property was put into my name in November. I plan to dispose of the house. I understand that there is a CML 6 month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship may be treated the same way as if I'd bought the property in November. Do I have to wait half a year to sell?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook instructs conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be impacted by that. many mortgage companies would take a practical view as this obligation is principally there to identify subsales or the quick reselling of properties.

My wife and I are in the throws of viewing apartments in Kidsgrove and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a conveyancer in place at this stage? I am planning to take a home loan with Santander.

It would be wise to commence your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the estate agent. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Santander, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel.

Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Kidsgrove in advance of appointing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some lenders may refuse to issue a loan on a flying freehold home.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different requirements from Halifax. If you contact us we can look into this further with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Kidsgrove. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Kidsgrove to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

Last June I purchased a leasehold property in Kidsgrove. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Leasehold Conveyancing in Kidsgrove - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

How is the lease structured? Most Kidsgrove leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced on behalf of the freeholder. If you buy the apartment you will have to pay this charge, normally quarterly during the year. This could vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common areas. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a large sum, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire as sometimes it could be surprisingly expensive. Make sure you investigate if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Kidsgrove. If you like the flatin Kidsgrove however your cat is not allowed to live with you then you will be faced hard choice.