I am in need of a conveyancer. Should I go for for a nationwide conveyancer rather than a high street Hartlebury conveyancing solicitor?

Hartlebury is a special area, where local know-how helps. The relaxed pace of life has it’s attractions – but not for your conveyancing. The conveyancers that we endorse providing vast Hartlebury insight with a proactive, hands-onapproach that helps everything runs smoothly. It will certainly help that they enjoy well established connections with mortgage brokers, search providers, valuers and other Hartlebury conveyancing firms

We wanted to use a conveyancing solicitor in Hartlebury for our house move. Our broker has since notified us that our mortgage lenders Britannia won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?

Banks normally imposes restrictions either the category or the number of conveyancing firms on their panel. Typical examples of such criteria being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to act for them. You should note that Britannia have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Britannia Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago even though there remains differing views about the extent of solicitor engagement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry indicate that plenty of law firms, including some in or near Hartlebury only perform one or two conveyances per annum.

My uncle pointed out to me me that in buying a property in Hartlebury there may be various restrictions prohibiting external alterations to a property. Is this right?

We are aware of a number of properties in Hartlebury which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Hartlebury should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

I can not fathom if my bank requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Hartlebury building society branch on a couple of occasions and was reassured it wasn't a problem and they will lend. My Hartlebury conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called to say that they would not lend in accordance with their specific requirements. Who do I believe?

Provided that the conveyancing practitioner is on the mortgage company panel, she or he must follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook requirements for the lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Kent Reliance. Is it usual for Kent Reliance to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Hartlebury is approved on their conveyancing panel? Kent Reliance have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.

A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Kent Reliance to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I am buying my first flat in Hartlebury with the aid of help to buy. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The sale representative suggested that I not to tell my conveyancer about the deal as it may jeopardize my mortgage with TSB. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Hartlebury. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice as normal as all rents and service payments will be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I bought a 2 bed flat in Hartlebury, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Hartlebury with a long lease are worth £260,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2101

With only 75 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.