I am assisting my step-mother sell her house in Caversham Heights. Does the conveyancing solicitor order the EPC or it is for the owner to coordinate?

After the abolition of HIPs, energy performance certificates was kept a mandatory component of moving property. An energy assessment should be to hand prior to the property being marketed. It is not as aspect of the sale process that lawyers normally organise. If you are instructing a Caversham Heights conveyancing lawyer they might help arrange EPC’s due to their relationships with long established Caversham Heights accredited person

I am the single recipient of my late grandmother’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Caversham Heights. The Caversham Heights property was put into my name in July. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a CML six month 'rule', which means that my property ownership could be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the property in July. Do I have to wait 6 months to sell?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook obliges conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you might be caught by that. Most banks would take a pragmatic view as this requirement primarily exists to pick up on subsales or the quick reselling of properties.

I have a mortgage with Lloyds for my property in Caversham Heights. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Lloyds?

Your original mortgage agreement with Lloyds will provide that you need their approval before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Lloyds’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let 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 Lloyds directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Lloyds conveyancing panel firm.

My wife and I purchased a semi-detached Georgian property in Caversham Heights. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Accord Mortgages Ltd. 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. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Caversham Heights and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the situation with the conveyancing lawyer who conducted the work.

I'm remortgaging my primary property to a BTL loan with Clydesdale and I will use the ballance of the raised equity as a deposit on a second house. The neighborhood we are talking about is Caversham Heights. Will your conveyancers be able to act for both sets of banks and link together the two deals?

Make use of our search tool on this site to check that the conveyancers are approved by both banks. Having checked that they are your solicitor should be able to connect the two conveyancing matters but you should talk with you conveyancer and make apparent your expectations and requirements.

We're first time buyers - agreed a price, yet the selling agent has warned us that the owners will only proceed if we instruct their recommended solicitors as they are insisting on a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a family conveyancer used to conveyancing in Caversham Heights

We suspect that the seller is unaware of this demand. Should the vendor require ‘a quick sale', alienating a motivated purchaser is not the way to achieve this. Contact the vendors directly and make sure they understand (a)you are motivated purchasers (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances arranged © you have nothing to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you will continue to use your own,trusted Caversham Heights conveyancing lawyers - not the ones that will earn the negotiator at the agency a referral fee or meet his conveyancing thresholds demanded by senior management.

What are the specific advantages to instructing a high street conveyancing practitioner in Caversham Heights

A significant proportion of house movers in Caversham Heights prefer a local lawyer so that they can pop into the lawyer’s offices if they have questions, and to sign documents without using the Royal Mail.

One could suggest that there is a marginal benefit in opting for a property lawyer local to a property you are planning to purchase, due to the knowledge of the area and potential local issues - however this is debatable. Most conveyancers are now online and could be any place in the world.