What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Dagenham? Is this really necessary?

Dagenham conveyancing solicitors and indeed property practitioners throughout the UK have a duty under Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules to verify the identity of any client with a view to satisfy themselves that clients are who they say they are.

Conveyancing clients are required to disclose two forms of certified identification; proof of identity (typically a Passport or Driving Licence) and evidence of address (typically a Utility Bill less than 3 months old).

Confirmation of source of monies is also required in compliance with the money laundering statutes as lawyers are duty bound to check that the monies you are using to acquire a property (be it the exchange deposit or the total purchase monies if you are a cash purchaser) has come from a reputable source (such as employment savings) rather than the proceeds of illegitimate behaviour.

Me and my partner are purchasing a property in Dagenham. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? On completion day we will need to put money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

A friend informed me that in buying a property in Dagenham there may be various restrictions prohibiting external changes to a property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in Dagenham which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Dagenham should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

I currently have a mortgage with for my property in Dagenham. 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 ?

You must advise prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of ’s mortgage conditions. It may be that 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 directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a conveyancing panel lawyer.

I own a terraced Victorian house in Dagenham. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and . I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. Is it worth asking to clarify?

You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be 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 Dagenham and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.

I'm purchasing a new build house in Dagenham with a loan from . The developers would not budge the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The property agent advised me not to tell my solicitor about the side-deal as it would adversely affect my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

When it comes to my conveyancing in Dagenham should I be paying VAT on the following: (1) Land reg fee on purchase (2) Pre - completion search fee (3) SDLT E submission on purchase (4) Bank TT fee

(1) Land reg fee on purchase - No (2) Pre - completion search fees -No, (such conveyancing searches are HMLR ones and means £4 and possibly £2 bankruptcy per name on your mortgage) (3) SDLT E submission on your purchase - There is no VAT on Stamp Duty. However if the firm is charging a stamp duty e-submission fee as part of their services - some Dagenham conveyancers do - that will incur VAT(4) Bank transfer fee - Yes it is for the 's time in submitting the funds this way.