In reading moneysavingexpert.com for a conveyancing lawyer in Tewkesbury, many say that I should look for a CQS accredited lawyer. Can you explain what CQS is?

The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) provides a kitemark for residential conveyancing practices issued by the Law Society. Membership achievement establishes a level of credibility for member firms with stakeholders (regulators, lenders, insurers and consumers) based upon: * the integrity of the senior responsible officer and other key conveyancing staff * the firm's adherence to good practice management standards * compliance with prudent and efficient conveyancing processes via the scheme protocol It includes numerous partnerships who conduct conveyancing in Tewkesbury.

Please help - my lawyer advises that flying freehold insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Tewkesbury?

The right level of flying freehold indemnity insurance depends on your lender. It would differ for example between Barclays and Virgin Money. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.

I currently have a mortgage with Coventry BS for my property in Tewkesbury. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Coventry BS?

Coventry BS must be informed of your intention before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Coventry BS’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Coventry BS will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Coventry BS directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Coventry BS conveyancing panel solicitor.

My offer was accepted on a house in Tewkesbury on 15/1/2025, valuation was booked 3 days later, all came back fine. Property lawyer retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Coventry BS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Are Coventry BS entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Coventry BS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

My wife and I are selling our home in Tewkesbury and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built on contaminated land. A local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers are using a national conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Tewkesbury. Having lived in Tewkesbury for 4 years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to obtain clarification that there is no issue.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. Are they able to advise? You should check with 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 life insurance to cover that same ailment)

I work for a long established estate agency in Tewkesbury where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Tewkesbury conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Tewkesbury - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

The majority of Tewkesbury leasehold flats will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building invoiced by the management company. Where you purchase the flat you will have to pay this charge, usually quarterly accross the year. This could vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common areas. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, normally this is not a significant figure, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because sometimes it can be prohibitively expensive. Does this lease have in excess of 80 years left? Who are the managing agents?

My lender have just issued us with a mortgage offer. We instructed a long established conveyancer in Tewkesbury yesterday. This morning, our financial adviser contacted us saying that the lender said that we cannot use our solicitor as they aren't on their 'approved list'. As novices, we did not have a clue that the mortgage company had some control over our choice Is this allowed?

You are at liberty to choose any lawyer you wish to choose for your conveyancing in Tewkesbury however if your lender aren't happy with them you would have to pay an extra fee so your bank can instruct their own solicitors as well to protect their interest. It may be possible your preferred conveyancing firm to get added to the mortgage company panel. Do make the most of web-based search facilities including lenderpanel.com to find a conveyancing solcitor in Tewkesbury on the bank panel. You can go into your high street mortgage company branch in Tewkesbury. They will know some good conveyancing solicitors in Tewkesbury on the bank panel.