Can I use your services to find a Conveyancing solicitor in Rochester even where I’m not buying or disposing of a house, for example if I intend to acquire an office in Rochester with a loan from Godiva Mortgages Ltd?

The service is predominantly used to help choose domestic conveyancing solicitors in Rochester but we have set out at the bottom of this page some Rochester commercial conveyancing firms. You should make contact with the firm directly to establish if they are also authorised to represent Godiva Mortgages Ltd

Me and my partner are purchasing a property in Rochester. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we have to deposit funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?

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.

My stepmother informed me that in buying a property in Rochester there may be various restrictions affecting the ability to carry out external changes to a property. Is this right?

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

I have a mortgage with Virgin Money for my property in Rochester. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Virgin Money?

Virgin Money must be informed of your intention prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Virgin Money’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Virgin Money will allow you to rent 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 Virgin Money directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Virgin Money conveyancing panel solicitor.

Will commercial conveyancing searches disclose planned roadworks that could impact a commercial premises in Rochester?

Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Rochester will conduct a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers expend in sourcing accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Rochester. The report provides definitive data 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 Rochester.

For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Rochester it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately can result in delays to Rochester commercial conveyancing deals as well as pose a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not carried out for residential conveyancing in Rochester.

I am buying my first flat in Rochester benefiting from help to buy. The developers would not budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not disclose to my conveyancer about this extras as it could adversely affect my loan with The Royal Bank of Scotland. Is this normal?.

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.

Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Rochester before instructing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor has said that some lenders may refuse to give a mortgage on this type of house.

It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you e-mail us we can look into this further via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Rochester. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.