I have todayfound out that Wolstenholmes have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Halesowen for a purchase of a freehold house 18 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is in my name in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest way to check if the property is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Halesowen conveyancing specialists.

How does conveyancing in Halesowen differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in Halesowen contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is constructed. This is because new home sellers in Halesowen tend to acquire 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 property lawyers 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 Halesowen or who has acted in the same development.

I opted to have a survey carried out on a house in Halesowen before retaining solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. The surveyor advised that some banks tend refuse to give a mortgage on this type of home.

It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can check via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Halesowen. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Halesowen to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

I need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer in Halesowen for my purchase. Is it possible to review a firm’s complaints history with the profession’s regulator?

Anyone can review presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations arising from investigations from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For information about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For callers outside the UK, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA could recorded telephone calls for training reasons.

We are soon to buying a property in Halesowen. Conveyancing is not yet done but we would like keep the amount we are are purchasing for confidential from sites such as Zoopla. Is this achievable and how?

HMLR as a matter of law bound to reveal price paid data on a register of the title for residential properties countrywide including homes in Halesowen. The register of title is a public document, so the Land Registry would be breaking the law if they did not permit access to the register.

You can ask HMLR to hide the price paid data yet the response would be a No.