The owners have rather pushy sellers who has suggested a lock out agreement with a deposit 10k. Are such contracts recommended for Sittingbourne conveyancing transactions?

There are two primary concerns with entering into any lock out agreement (sometimes referred to as a shut-out contract) is that it diverts attention away from moving forward with the conveyancing work, so unless it requires little or no negotiation then it could turn out to be unhelpful. It is not particularly popular by Sittingbourne conveyancing practitioners for this reason. A further issue is the extent of the remedies available - an aggrieved purchaser is extremely unlikely to be granted an injunction to stop the owner selling to an alternative purchaser, so the only remedy available under the agreement will be the reimbursement of wasted charges and, in limited circumstances, the additional payment of penalties.

Is it the case that all Sittingbourne solicitors on the Nottingham conveyancing panel are governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Nottingham conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Some banks do list licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Sittingbourne. I have a mortgage offer with UBS. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use 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 UBS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the UBS conveyancing panel.

The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Sittingbourne. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?

All banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Team at head office. We understand that complaints to a lender are resolved very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.

I used Stirling Law a few years past for my conveyancing in Sittingbourne. Now, I need the files however the law firm has closed. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracing your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Sittingbourne of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I am purchasing a new build house in Sittingbourne with a loan from Nottingham Building Society. The developers would not budge the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative suggested that I not inform my solicitor about this side-deal as it will adversely affect my mortgage with Nottingham Building Society. 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.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £235,500 and found one near me in Sittingbourne I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 52 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Sittingbourne for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be an issue. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you could ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this.