"Awareness of local issues and concerns can mean the difference between a stress-free move, and a drawn-out and difficult process. Fridaysmove's Windsor Conveyancing team is able to employ their local knowledge to help you move home sooner. They are also cognisant of the issues and considerations native to the area.

We have assisted home movers throughout Windsor, including Conveyancing in SL4."

Local issues considered by Windsor Conveyancing Solicitors:

My solicitor is not on my Lender's panel - what do I do?

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. Recently, lenders have changed the criteria for the firms which they will accept on their panels. They have also reduced the size of their panels, removing firms which do not carry out much Conveyancing work or which they consider to have proved unsatisfactory in the past. If your lender does not accept your chosen solicitor, you must make a decision as to how to proceed:

• Obtain a mortgage from a less restrictive lender
• Instruct a solicitor whom your lender accepts
• Pay the lenders costs for their solicitor in addition to your own

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 Windsor, Windsor and Maidenhead, try:

• Halifax, 26, Peascod Street, SL4 1DU - Tel: 08456 814206
• Lloyds TSB Bank plc, 2, Thames St, SL4 1PL - Tel: 0845 3000000
• Nationwide Building Society, 5-7, William St, SL4 1ED - Tel: 0845 2660304
• Santander, 97, Peascod St, SL4 1AZ - Tel: 0845 7654321

Is your Windsor new home located in an at risk conservation area?

Conservation areas are designated by Local Authorities to manage change in regions that people wish to protect from decay. However, sadly many are falling into neglect e.g. alterations to front elevations like removal of original bay windows.

The following conservation areas are reported as at risk:

• Beenhams Heath - at risk, unknown vulnerability and improving.

Does your Windsor purchase qualify for Stamp Duty Relief?

Around 2,000 wards nationwide are eligible for stamp duty relief. Areas designated are identified by local government ward or electoral divisions. Disadvantaged areas may not precisely match postcode areas, so a postcode search will be insufficient to ensure relief may be available. Above £150k, no stamp duty relief may be available. That said, for any purchase below £150,000, it is worth making a simple postcode search to find out if a property is in a Disadvantaged area. This search may not be 100% reliable, particularly in the case of new builds.