My fiance and I are planning to purchase a property in Little Hampton and have instructed a Little Hampton conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Little Hampton lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Little Hampton lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

Does a directory service exist listing panel solicitors in Little Hampton on the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Website?

Unfortunately not yet. There is no such directory service on the CML or Building Society Association sites. A small selection of banks make their panel listings viewable on the web. If you are seeking to appoint a Little Hampton on the please use our tool.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Little Hampton. I have a mortgage agreed with . Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with , you will need to appoint a solicitor on the conveyancing panel.

At last I have had an offer on an apartment in Little Hampton agreed to, the vendors do nevertheless have a tied purchase. The owners have offered on a property, however it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other apartments booked. I have selected a nearby conveyancing solicitor in Little Hampton. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage application with started?

It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs too early (mortgage application is in the region of £1k, then survey, Little Hampton conveyancing search fees, etc). First, you should check that your is on the conveyancing panel. Regarding the next stages this very much dictated by the specifics of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a rising market some buyers will apply for the mortgage with and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their to proceed with the conveyancing in Little Hampton.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Little Hampton. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Little Hampton

If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry.

I am looking for a ground for flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Little Hampton I like with open areas and station nearby, however it only has 61 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Little Hampton for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.

Am I best advised to appoint a Little Hampton conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can carry out the conveyancing but they are based a couple of hundredmiles drive away.

The benefit of a high street Little Hampton conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to sign documents, hand in your ID and pester them if necessary. Having local Little Hampton know how is a benefit. However it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who instructed your friend and in the main were happy that should outweigh using an unknown Little Hampton conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being local.