Knowledge of the local Tonbridge area is key to an easier, faster move. Your Property Lawyer will use their working associations with the local authority and other bodies to deliver better results.

We have assisted home movers throughout Tonbridge, including Conveyancing in TN10, TN12, TN9.

Qualifying for stamp duty relief in Tonbridge

Stamp duty relief may be available for property purchases in Tonbridge labelled as 'disadvantaged areas', using local government wards to delineate boundaries. Residential purchases under £150,000 may be eligible for stamp duty relief. If it is thought that a property is in a disadvantaged area, but an online search does not confirm this, it may be necessary to make further enquiries with the local council. A postcode search will usually determine whether a home being sold for less than the threshold is eligible. Call our Conveyancing team for a full list of designated disadvantaged areas in Tonbridge.

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

Lenders maintain panels of law firms to perform mortgage legal work. While these panels were once open, allowing any firm to join, that is no longer the case. Lenders have also reduced the size of their panels, setting more restrictive criteria for membership. If a lender will not instruct a firm you have picked to perform your legal work, you have the following choices:

• Try to obtain a mortgage from another lender who will instruct your Conveyancing solicitor.
• Instruct another firm of Conveyancing solicitors who are on your lender's panel to handle your Conveyancing.
• Continue with your present Conveyancing solicitor, but accept that a separate firm will also act for the lender, and that you will have to pay their costs in addition.

It is usually cheaper to have the same firm act both for you and your lender, and carry out all the conveyancing work in connection with a purchase and the mortgage. Be aware of the following, if you choose to remain with your first choice of law firm:

• You must now pay the lender's costs in addition to your own
• You will not get any priority from the lender's solicitors, as they will have many other cases underway, and you are unable contact these solicitors directly

Looking for a mortgage lender with a branch in Tonbridge, Kent, try:

• NatWest Bank plc, 130, High St, TN9 1DE - Tel: 0845 6002803
• Halifax, 39, High St, TN9 1SQ - Tel: 01732 584833
• Barclays Bank plc, 50-52, Commercial Rd, Paddock Wood, TN12 6DP - Tel: 0845 7555555
• Nationwide Building Society, 55, Commercial Rd, Paddock Wood, TN12 6EN - Tel: 0845 2661188

Searches

If your are planning to buy a home in Tonbridge a lawyer must conduct Official Local Authority Searches. The Local Authority for Tonbridge is Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, Town Hall, Civic Way, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1RS. Tel: 01892 526 121