Finally the sale completed on my house in Castleton and Blacktown last March but my buyer keeps telephoning daily to say her lawyer needs to hear from myconveyancer. What are the post completion sale formalities following completion?

After completion of your sale your lawyer should deliver the transfer deeds and all additional paperwork to the purchaser's lawyers. Depending on the transaction, your solicitor should also send confirmation that the home loan has been discharged to the buyers lawyers. There is unlikely to be post completion steps specific conveyancing in Castleton and Blacktown.

I used Wolstenholmes several years past for my conveyancing in Castleton and Blacktown. I now require my file but the law firm has closed. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Castleton and Blacktown of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

How does conveyancing in Castleton and Blacktown differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in Castleton and Blacktown contact us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because house builders in Castleton and Blacktown typically purchase the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Castleton and Blacktown or who has acted in the same development.

I decided to have a survey completed on a house in Castleton and Blacktown prior to retaining conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor has said that some banks may not give a mortgage on this type of home.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Castleton and Blacktown. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Castleton and Blacktown especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Castleton and Blacktown.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Castleton and Blacktown with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Castleton and Blacktown can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ lawyers.
A minority of Castleton and Blacktown leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors. If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Castleton and Blacktown state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Castleton and Blacktown - Examples of Queries before buying

Are there any major works on the horizon that could add a premium to the maintenance costs? What is the length of the lease? Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments?