My partner and I are hoping to buy a flat in Seaford and are in fact using a Seaford conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Nationwide Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Seaford conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?

When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Seaford solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

I'm remortgaging my primary house to a buy to let mortgage with Yorkshire Building Society and I will use the ballance of the raised equity towards another house. The location we are interested in is Seaford. Will your lawyers be able to act for both sets of banks and link together the conveyances?

Make use of our comparison tool on this page to check that the conveyancers are on the appropriate lender panels. Assuming that they are your conveyancer will be able to tie up the two deals but you should have a chat with you solicitor and communicate your desired outcome and requirements.

As co-executor for the will of my father I am selling a property in Neath but I am based in Seaford. My solicitor (who is 250 miles from meneeds me to sign a statutory declaration before completion. Could you suggest a conveyancing lawyer in Seaford who can witness and place their company stamp on the document?

strictly speaking you should not need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are Seaford based

I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Seaford. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, but I have recently received a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the invoice as normal as all rents and maintenance invoices should be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Seaford - Examples of Queries before buying

It is important to be aware if changing the roof or some other significant cost is due shortly to be shared between the tenants and will dramatically increase the the maintenance costs or require a one time payment. How is the lease structured? It would be prudent to discover as much as you can regarding the company managing the block as they will either make life much simpler or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to daily matters like the tidiness of the communal areas. Enquire of other people whether they are happy with their service. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and precisely how they are spending the funds.

My fiance is buying a basement flat in Seaford. He was given a quote by the lawyer recommended by the selling agents and it came to £1250 . It was 9 years ago since I sold and bought a house and the fee was £495. Have costs really gone up that much?

What does the conveyancing estimate include? Is it just for the legal fees, or what you will be paying in total (for instance Seaford searches, land registry fees, etc)