I am under pressure from the owner of a property in West Dean to sign contracts within four weeks. What can be done to accelerate the conveyancing process?

In a situation where the seller is applying time constraints for your conveyancing it is advisable to make sure that your conveyancer is familiar with the area as they will have local connections and intelligence. It is possible that they may have handled previousproperties in the same road. Therefore consider using a West Dean conveyancing lawyer. In addition, be sure that the conveyancing firm is on the on the approved list for your mortgage company. It is understood that just under twenty per cent of West Dean conveyancing deals are delayed or derailed after discovering a purchaser’s lawyer was not on their banks panel. This can often result in the home move being frustrated by an average of three weeks. It is understood that this issue affects in the region of one hundred thousand home moves annually. Most West Dean conveyancing firms can not act for certain lenders so do check as early as possible.

This question may be naive but I am new to the process as FTB of a garden flat in West Dean. Do I collect the keys to the property on the completion date from my conveyancer? If so, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in West Dean?

On the day of completion you will not be required to attend the conveyancers office in West Dean. Your solicitors will transfer the completion advance to the vendor’s solicitors, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be invited to collect the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.

Is it the case that all West Dean conveyancing solicitors on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Yorkshire BS approved list of solicitors they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Some mortgage companies do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the organisation would be governed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

I'm spending time looking at houses in West Dean and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a conveyancing practitioner appointed at this point? I will be getting a mortgage with Virgin Money.

You should start requesting conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. 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 contact information on to the selling agent. As you are getting a mortgage with Virgin Money, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

Should our conveyancer be raising enquiries concerning flooding during the conveyancing in West Dean.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers specialising in conveyancing in West Dean. There are those who acquire a property in West Dean, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, aside from the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or dispose of the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.

Conveyancers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a various checks that may be undertaken by the buyer or by their solicitors which should give them a better appreciation of the risks in West Dean. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms sent to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard inquiry of the vendor to discover whether the property has historically flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not notified by the owner, then a buyer may bring a legal claim for losses stemming from an incorrect answer. The purchaser’s conveyancers may also carry out an environmental report. This will disclose whether there is any known flood risk. If so, further investigations will need to be initiated.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in West Dean. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in West Dean ?

The majority of houses in West Dean are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in West Dean so you should seriously consider looking for a West Dean conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

Leasehold Conveyancing in West Dean - Examples of Queries before buying

What is the service charge and ground rent on the property? If a West Dean lease has no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the residence for 24 months in order to be eligible to extend the lease.

My wife and I have agreed a price on a West Dean apartment we inherited seven years ago in 2009. I have over a decades worth of conveyancing experience and, although retired, intend to do the legal work. The buyer's conveyancing practitioner has informed me that their mortgage company will not allow us to do our own conveyancing as they require the funds to be passed via a solicitor's bank account.

Mortgage requirements to lawyers from all mainstream lenders state that If the seller is not legally represented the borrower's lawyers should check whether the bank needs to be told so that a decision can be made as to whether they are willing to move forward.