It is a dozen years since I acquired my home in Old Town. Conveyancing lawyers have now been appointed on the sale but I can't find my deeds. Is this a problem?

Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be kept by your mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly in most cases the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Old Town involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is not registered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.

There is lots of information on this site about conveyancing in Old Town but what is your top tip for choosing the right conveyancer in Old Town

It would be unwise to be swayed by the cheapest Old Town conveyancing quote. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.

We are buying a terrace house in Old Town. Our aim is to carry out a loft conversion at the property.Will legal work on the property include enquiries to see if these alterations are permitted?

Your solicitor will review the deeds as conveyancing in Old Town can on occasion identify restrictions in the title deeds which restrict categories of alterations or necessitated the consent of a 3rd party. Certain extensions call for local authority planning permissions and approval in accordance building regulations. Some locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.

Is it the case that all Old Town solicitors on the conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As solicitors, in order to be on the conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. Many lenders do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

Will commercial conveyancing searches reveal impending roadworks that could impact a commercial site in Old Town?

Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Old Town will execute a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers expend in researching accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Old Town. The search result provides definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Old Town.

For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Old Town it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately could result in delays to Old Town commercial conveyancing transactions as well as pose a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not ordered for residential conveyancing in Old Town.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Old Town. 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.

Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Old Town

The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. 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.

One month into purchasing a house in Old Town. Conveyancing lawyer has called to say the property is "Leasehold". Should this adversely affect the marketability of the house?

Old Town conveyancing does not in most situations involve leasehold houses. The main consideration here is the length of lease and the ground rent. If there are over a hundred years remaining with a peppercorn rent, it's almost the same as freehold, so it shouldn't impact the value significantly.

On the flip side, if it's, say, 50 years it will have a adverse effect on the saleability, and most likely wouldn't be acceptable to the lender. The length of lease and ground rent will be specified in the lease which should be made available to your .