I am helping my step-mother sell her flat in Stonehouse. Does the solicitor arrange an energy performance certificate or it is for the owner to see to?

After the demise of Home Packs, EPC’s remained a compulsory part of moving house. An EPC needs to be commissioned prior to the property being put on the market. It is not a task that lawyers normally arrange. If you are using a Stonehouse conveyancing lawyer they might help arrange energy performance certificates given their relationships with reputable Stonehouse providers

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am new to the process as FTB of a ground floor flat in Stonehouse. Do I receive the keys to the house on the completion date from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will use a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Stonehouse?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will transfer the purchase money to the seller's lawyers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be invited to receive the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen early afternoon.

My offer was accepted on a property in Stonehouse on 12/12/2025, valuation was booked 2 days after, all came back fine. Conveyancer instructed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Nationwide and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel. Are Nationwide entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

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

I am buying a property and the conveyancer has identified Chancel Repair for which the house could be liable given it’s proximity to the area of such a church. He has recommended insurance. Is this strictly warranted for conveyancing in Stonehouse

Unless a prior acquisition of the premises took place after 12 October 2013 you may assume that lawyers handling conveyancing in Stonehouse to remain recommending a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

I used Stirling Law a few years past for my conveyancing in Stonehouse. Now, I need my documents however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

Do 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 Stonehouse of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

We are four weeks into a residential purchase having been referred to conveyancers by the high street agent to perform conveyancing in Stonehouse. We are not happy. Can you help me find new solicitors?

A lawyer would have to be really poor to suggest replacing them. Has your loan offer been sent? In the event that it has you need to inform them of the new contact details and have the loan are re-sent. Your solicitor ideally should be on the banks approved list to avoid escalating expenses and frustration. That should be your starting point. The search tool will help you find a lender approved lawyer for your home move in Stonehouse

Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Stonehouse 1st floor flat temporarily due to a new job. We instructed a Stonehouse conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Stonehouse do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting consent.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Stonehouse, conveyancing formalities finalised June 1996. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Stonehouse with over 90 years remaining are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2094

You have 68 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.