My husband and I are looking to buy a home in Timsbury and have instructed a Timsbury conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Lloyds TSB Bank have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Timsbury conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Timsbury solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

Last June we completed a house move in Timsbury. We have since encountered a number of issues with the property which we consider were missed in the conveyancing searches. What action can we take? Can you clarify the nature of searches that should have been ordered for conveyancing in Timsbury?

The question is not clear as to the nature of the problems and if they are unique to conveyancing in Timsbury. Conveyancing searches and due diligence initiated during the legal transfer of property are supposed to help avoid problems. As part of the process, a seller completes a questionnaire referred to as a SPIF. If the information proves to be inaccurate, you may have a misrepresentation claim against the vendor for any losses that you have suffered. The survey should have identified any problems with the structure of the property. Assuming a detailed survey was carried out and the issues were not identified, you may have a claim against the surveyor. However, if you did not have a full survey, you may be responsible for fixing any defects that have now been noted. We would always encourage buyers to take every possible step to ensure they are completely aware of the condition of a property before purchase regardless of whether they are buying in Timsbury.

What will a local search inform me concerning the property we're buying in Timsbury?

Timsbury conveyancing often commences with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company for instance Searches UK The local search is essential in every Timsbury conveyancing purchase; that is if you don’t want any nasty once you have moved into your property. The search will provide data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic sections.

Just acquired a detached house in Timsbury , What is the estimated time for the Land Registry to deal with the formalities evidencing the transfer to my name? My Timsbury conveyancing solicitor has been very slow, so I want to check the post completion formalities are dealt with.

There is nothing unique about conveyancing in Timsbury registration formalities. Rather than based on location, timeframes can vary according to who lodges the application, whether it is in order and if the Land registry need to notify any third persons or bodies. Currently approximately 80% of such applications are completed in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be extensive delays. Historically registration takes place once the purchaser has moved in to the premises thus post completion formalities is not typically top priority yet if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your solicitor could communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for an expedited registration.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Timsbury with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Timsbury can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
Some Timsbury leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors. If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved. If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Timsbury state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance. If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Timsbury conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Timsbury - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

It is important to be aware if redecorating or some other significant cost is due shortly that will be shared amongst the tenants and may well dramatically impact the level of the service costs or result in a one time invoice. Please note that where the lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most Timsburylease extensions you would be be obliged to have owned the residence for 24 months before you are entitled to extend the lease. Be sure to enquire if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example it is very common in Timsbury leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Timsbury. If you love the propertyin Timsbury but your cat is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a hard decision.