I have been recommended a conveyancing solicitor in Hadleigh. I I am struggling to find out whether they are accepted on the HSBC Bank approved list of lawyers. Could you help?

You should phone your conveyancer and ask them whether they can act for the lender. Alternatively you can get in touch with HSBC Bank who may be able to help.

My fiancee and I are in the throws of viewing apartments in Hadleigh and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it sensible to have a solicitor on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a mortgage with Virgin Money.

You should start requesting conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the selling agent. As you are taking out a mortgage with Virgin Money, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel.

After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Hadleigh. My mortgage broker suggested a property lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £150. A couple of days later, the lawyer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Clydesdale panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in September 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, UBS are being a right pain. The Hadleigh solicitor who is on the UBS conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but UBS are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do UBS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that UBS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why UBS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Hadleigh?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Hadleigh. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Hadleigh. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Hadleigh Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Who are the managing agents? How long is the Lease? Is there a share of the freehold?

Our mortgage broker has recommended their solicitor for my conveyancing in Hadleigh - Surely it’s better to just use them?

It is worth checking if the estate agent is recommending a conveyancer or introducing to a conveyancing practitioner. There are plenty of Hadleigh estate agents who recommend two or three Hadleigh conveyancing firms purely based on those lawyers offering a great service.