We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Strood for our home move. Our financial adviser informed us that our mortgage company won't deal with them. Surely this is unduly restrictive?

Lenders in the main restrict either the category or the number of conveyancing solicitors on their member panel. A common example of such criteria being that a law practice must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the profile of firm, a few banks have reduced the amount of solicitor practices they permit to act for them. You should note that have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the reduction of conveyancing panels since 2008 even though there are differing views regarding the level of solicitor engagement in some of that fraud. Figures from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms, including some in or near Strood only perform one or two conveyances a year.

Do commercial conveyancing searches reveal planned roadworks that could affect a commercial estate in Strood?

Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Strood will order 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 Strood. The search result sets out 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 Strood.

For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Strood it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. The absence of identifying developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately could cause delays to Strood commercial conveyancing transactions as well as present a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not ordered for residential conveyancing in Strood.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our property can not be found. The solicitors who conducted the conveyancing in Strood 5 years ago have long since closed. What are my next steps?

As long as the title is registered the details of your proprietorship will be retained by the Land Registry under a Title Number. It is easy to perform a search at the Land Registry, locate your property and obtain current copies of the property title for less than a fiver. If the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually retain a certified duplicate of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be ordered for £20 inclusive of VAT.

I am buying my first flat in Strood benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The sale representative suggested that I not inform my conveyancer about this extras as it would affect my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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.

Jane (my partner) and I may need to let out our Strood garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Strood conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your last Strood conveyancing solicitor is not around you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must seek permission from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I bought a 2 bed flat in Strood, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1995. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent properties in Strood with a long lease are worth £165,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 50

With 50 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.