My wife and I are purchasing a 3 bedroom apartment in Sevenoaks with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Sevenoaks conveyancer, but the bank advise he's not on their "panel". It appears that we have no option but to select one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or keep our Sevenoaks conveyancing practitioner as well as pay for one of their panel firms to represent them. This feels very unfair; can we not insist that the lender use our Sevenoaks conveyancer ?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your Sevenoaks conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.
I am under pressure from the seller of a property in Sevenoaks to complete within four weeks. What can be done to quicken up the conveyancing process?
In a situation where you are under pressure to complete it is highly recommended that your lawyer is familiar with the location as they will make use of local contacts and intelligence. It is even conceivable that they could have handled previousproperties in the same street. Therefore consider using a Sevenoaks conveyancing solicitor. In addition, check that the conveyancing firm is on the on the approved list for your mortgage company. It is believed that 18% of Sevenoaks conveyancing transactions are suspended or derailed after discovering a buyer’s lawyer was not on their banks list of approved solicitors. In many cases this discovery resulted in the legal transfer of property being delayed by an average of 21 days. It is claimed that this issue impacts approximately one hundred thousand home sales annually. Most Sevenoaks conveyancing firms can not act for certain banks so do check at the outset.
I am selling my house in Sevenoaks. Does my solicitor have to be required to be on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently in recent years.
My wife and I purchasing a 4 bedroom semi-detached house in Sevenoaks. Our aim is to carry out a loft conversion at the property.Will the conveyancing process involve investigations to see if these alterations are permitted?
Your conveyancer will review the deeds as conveyancing in Sevenoaks will occasionally reveal restrictions in the title documents which prevent categories of works or necessitated the consent of a 3rd party. Some works need local authority planning consent and approval in accordance building regulations. Some areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or impact extensions. It would be prudent to check these things with a surveyor before you commit yourself to a purchase.
The mortgage over my property is with Virgin Money for my property in Sevenoaks. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Virgin Money?
Virgin Money must be informed of your intention before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Virgin Money’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Virgin Money will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Virgin Money directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Virgin Money conveyancing panel solicitor.
My offer was accepted on a house in Sevenoaks on 7/9/2026, valuation was booked five days later, received a clean bill of health. Solicitor appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to UBS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the UBS conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for UBS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the UBS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
How does conveyancing in Sevenoaks differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Sevenoaks contact us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is built. This is because new home sellers in Sevenoaks usually buy the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Sevenoaks or who has acted in the same development.
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Sevenoaks from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Sevenoaks can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers’ solicitors. If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Sevenoaks state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance. If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Sevenoaks conveyancing deal. Where a new share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later. A minority of Sevenoaks leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers. The majority of landlords or Management Companies in Sevenoaks levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sevenoaks.
I purchased a leasehold flat in Sevenoaks, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Sevenoaks with over 90 years remaining are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2085
You have 59 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £20,900 and £24,200 plus legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.