We are purchasing a house and need a conveyancing solicitor in Maidstone who is on the Aldermore solicitor panel. Can you recommend a local firm?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Aldermore . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Maidstone.

I am assisting my step-mother sell her house in Maidstone. Does the solicitor arrange the energy performance certificate or it is for the owner to coordinate?

After the demise of HIPs, energy assessments was retained a compulsory component of moving property. An energy performance certificate should be commissioned in advance of the property being put on the market. This is not as aspect of the sale process that lawyers normally organise. If you are instructing a Maidstone conveyancing lawyer they might be able to arrange EPC’s given their relationships with long established Maidstone accredited person

Are all Maidstone Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Santander conveyancing list of approved practices?

It is true that some lenders now utilise the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.

I have paid off my mortgage with Co-operative. I assume I don't need a Maidstone conveyancing practitioner on the Co-operative panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your Co-operative mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Co-operative mortgage from the register. Co-operative, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Co-operative has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Co-operative has instructed the Land Registry to do so

My wife and I own a 4 bedroom Georgian property in Maidstone. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Accord Mortgages Ltd. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the matching property. Is it worth asking Accord Mortgages Ltd to clarify?

You should review 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 Maidstone and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the situation with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.

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

One may review documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions stemming from investigations from 2008 onwards. Go to Check a solicitor's record. To find information about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors history, ring 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For non-uk callers, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes monitor call for training requirements.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Maidstone from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Maidstone can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Maidstone home move. Where a new share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible. If there is a history of conflict 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 flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing. Many landlords or Management Companies in Maidstone levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Maidstone.

I purchased a split level flat in Maidstone, conveyancing formalities finalised February 2006. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Maidstone with an extended lease are worth £176,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2105

With 80 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.