I am helping my niece sell her house in Stalham. Does the conveyancer arrange the energy assessment or it is for the seller to coordinate?

After the demise of Home Information Packs, energy performance certificates was maintained a required element of selling a property. An EPC should be to hand before the property is placed on the market. This is not as aspect of the sale process that law firms ordinarily organise. Where you are using a Stalham conveyancing lawyer they might be able to arrange energy assessments given their relationships with reputable Stalham assessors

I am buying a property in Stalham. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Bank of Ireland have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?

Given that your lender is Bank of Ireland your lawyer must follow the conveyancing instructions contained in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Bank of Ireland. The CML Handbook sets out minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and lawyers are required to report to Bank of Ireland where a lease does not meet these requirements. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not isolated to Stalham.

We were going to get a DIP from Leeds Building Society this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Leeds Building Society recommend any Stalham solicitors on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?

You will need to appoint Stalham solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Leeds Building Society through the process.

My wife and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our house in Stalham and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. Any local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the purchasers instructed a web based conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Stalham. Having lived in Stalham for three years we know of no issue. Should we contact our local Authority to get confirmation that there is no issue.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm already. Are they able to advise? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same illness)

Me and my brother own a 4 bedroom Georgian house in Stalham. Conveyancing practitioner represented me and Coventry Building Society. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold with the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Stalham and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.

We're new to the buying process - had an offer accepted, but the estate agent has warned us that the owners will only issue a contract if we appoint the agent's chosen conveyancers as they want an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a local conveyancer with experience of conveyancing in Stalham

We suspect that the seller is not behind this requirement. Should the vendor desire ‘a quick sale', alienating a motivated buyer is going to damage their objectives. Speak to the vendors direct and explain that (a)you are serious purchasers (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you intend to appoint your preferred Stalham conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will provide the estate agent a introducer fee or hit his conveyancing targets pre-set by corporate headquarters.

What can I do to determine who is the owner of a house in Stalham?

Provided the premises is recorded at HM Land Registry, and you have requisite details of the address of the premises, you will be able to see details from the HM Land Registry of the registered proprietor for a fee.