We're in West Wickham, First time buyers buying with a mortgage (lender is Santander , and our solicitor is on the Santander conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?

The fact that your lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no property lawyer should guarantee a timeframe for your conveyancing, due to third parties outside of your control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain.

Me and my partner are purchasing a house in West Wickham. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? On completion day we will need to deposit funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?

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.

Is it the case that all West Wickham solicitors on the Principality conveyancing panel are governed by the SRA?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Principality approved list of solicitors they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Some banks do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the organisation would be overseen by the CLC.

Planning on purchasing a maisonette in West Wickham. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the UBS conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the West Wickham lawyer is on the UBS conveyancing panel.

I am buying a property and the conveyancer has identified Chancel Repair to which the house may be liable given it’s proximity to the area of such a church. She has suggested insurance. Is this really warranted for conveyancing in West Wickham

Unless a previous purchase of the house completed post 12 October 2013 you can expect lawyers conducting conveyancing in West Wickham to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

I need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor for some conveyancing in West Wickham. I have chance upon a web site which appears to be the perfect solution If it is possible to get all formalities done via web that would be preferable. Do I need to be concerned? What are the potential pitfalls?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?

I've recently bought a leasehold property in West Wickham. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a West Wickham conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a West Wickham conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a West Wickham premises is 26 Manor Road in July 2010. the Tribunal decided that price to be paid for the freehold was £12,420 This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term was 76.75 and 88.83.