There a several benefits of local information when buying or selling in Kent. Our Solicitors' maintain a network of Kent contacts.

We have assisted home movers throughout Kent, including Conveyancing in BR8, CT1, CT3, CT4, CT5, DA1, ME10, ME11, TN1, TN2.

Planning Restrictions - Listed Buildings

Extension or alteration of a listed property will require special consent. A building may be considered important for its:

• architectural design
• decoration
• craftsmanship

As the whole property is protected by listed status, if, for example, a sixteenth century house is listed, it would be an offence to demolish a twentieth century concrete garage in the grounds of the house. Maintenance of listed buildings may require more costly materials.

Listed buildings and scheduled monuments in Kent include Bilsington Priory, Bowl Barrow on Swinyard's Hill, Eastwell Church, and Hlaew in Juniper Wood.

Do you know if your Kent prospective new home is in a designated an at risk conservation area?

Are you planning to buy a property in a conservation area in Kent? Conservation areas are defined by Local Councils to manage change in residential areas that people want to protect from decay. However, sadly many are falling into neglect e.g. poorly maintained roads and pavements.

The following conservation areas are reported as at risk:

• Royal Tunbridge Wells - at risk, unknown vulnerability and improving.
• Gillingham Green - poor, high vulnerability and no significant change.
• Halling - poor, high vulnerability and no significant change.
• Star Hill to Sun Pier - fair, medium vulnerability and deteriorating.

Kent Tree Preservation Orders

When land around Kent is developed for housing, the existence of a TPO will be revealed in a local search against property on the original estate, whether or not there are any affected trees on the specific property being purchased. Note that developers are often required to plant trees and carry out other landscaping work as a condition of getting planning permission. Conditions placed on developers requiring them to plant trees during construction do not necessarily imply a TPO is in place.

What are the consequences if your solicitor is not on your Lender's panel?

Mortgage lenders maintain panels of solicitors who they will instruct to carry out legal work on mortgages. At one time, many lenders, especially the large banks, were prepared to instruct any firm of solicitors who asked to be placed on their panel. Increasingly however, lenders have lowered the number of firms which they will accept and allow to perform this work. To proceed where your Kent lawyer is not on a mortgage lender' s panel, you have the following options; you could either obtain a mortgage from another lender, or instruct another firm of conveyancer who are on the panel. Generally, it is cheaper to have the same firm act both for you and your lender, but you could also choose to persist with both your first choice of lender and solicitor, and pay for a lawyer selected by the lender to carry out the relevant legal work. If you choose to remain with your first choice of Kent-based solicitor, consider the following:

• Your lenders will instruct another firm, and you will have to pay their costs in addition to your own
• Your solicitor will have to send documents and information to the other solicitors, and wait for a response, which can cause delays
• Your case will be one of many which the lender's solicitors are dealing with, so it will be more difficult to engineer any priority treatment
• You cannot contact these solicitors directly, as they will be acting for the lender, not for you