I have just been advised by my broker that my Thorpe Astley solicitor is not on the mortgage company Solicitor panel. What can I do to be certain whether this is indeed the case?

The sensible course of action for you to take is to contact your Thorpe Astley lawyer directly. You lawyer should notify you what has happened. Where they are not on the panel they may be able to suggest a Thorpe Astley conveyancing practice that is on the conveyancing panel for your bank.

It is a dozen years since I acquired my house in Thorpe Astley. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been appointed on the sale but I am unable to track down the title deeds. Is this a major issue?

Don’t worry too much. First there is a possibility that the deeds will be kept by your lender or they could be in the possession of the conveyancers who acted in the purchase. Secondly in most cases the land will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing lawyers procuring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Thorpe Astley involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is not insurmountable.

My solicitor has informed me that chancel insurance is required on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Thorpe Astley?

The appropriate level of chancel indemnity insurance depends on who your lender is. It would differ for example between and . Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to members of the public take out such insurances.

is it true that all Thorpe Astley solicitor firms on the conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of mortgage companies do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Thorpe Astley solicitor - who is on the conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?

will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Thorpe Astley surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

A friend suggested that where I am purchasing in Thorpe Astley I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

This is a search is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Thorpe Astley conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Thorpe Astley around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Thorpe Astley.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Thorpe Astley. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Here are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Thorpe Astley

The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal.