Would the conveyancing solicitors Indexed on your site conduct auction conveyancing in Kent?
There are a number of niche lawyers we can connect you with those conducting auction conveyancing. Kent is just one of our locations in which our lawyers have a presence.
I am told that my conveyancing solicitors will need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in Kent. My lender is Platform
Platform have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 24/3/2026, the requirements read as follows :
Are all Kent Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Coventry BS conveyancing list of approved practices?
Some major banks and building societies now utilise the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to remain on their panels.
I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Kent. I have a mortgage offer with Skipton. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Skipton, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Skipton conveyancing panel.
After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Kent. My financial adviser suggested a solicitor. I paid an advanced payment of £200. A few days later, the solicitor called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Bank of Ireland 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 Bank of Ireland 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 have recentlybeen informed that Wolstenholmes have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Kent for a purchase of a leasehold flat 9 months ago. How can I establish that my home is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?
The quickest way to check if the property is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Kent conveyancing specialists.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Kent both have approximately 50 years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Kent is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Kent conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
Kent Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying
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Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that will add a premium to the service charges? It would be a good idea to find out if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Kent. If you love the flatin Kent but your dog can’t make the move with you then you will be presented with a difficult choice. Please note that where the lease has fewer than 80 years it will affect the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have been the owner of the premises for a couple of years in order to be legally able to extend the lease.
To what extent are Kent conveyancing solicitors under an obligation to the Law Society to supply clear conveyancing figures?
Contained within the Solicitors Code of Conduct are set rules and regulations as to how the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) allow solicitors to publicise their fees to clients.The Law Society have a practice note giving advice on how to publicise transparent charges to avoid breaching any such rule. Practice notes are not legal advice issued by the Law Society and is not intended as the only standard of good practice a conveyancing solicitor should adhere to. The Practice Note does, nevertheless, constitute the Law Society’s perspective of acceptable practice for publicising conveyancing charges, and accordingly it’s a recommended read for any solicitor or conveyancer in Kent or or elsewhere in the country.