It is a dozen years since I bought my home in Bamburgh. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been retained on the sale but I am unable to track down my deeds. Is this a problem?
Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be retained by your lender or they could be archived with the solicitor who handled the purchase. Secondly in most cases the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers procuring current official copies of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Bamburgh involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.
I am about to put an offer on a leasehold apartment in Bamburgh. The selling agents assure me that it is normal for flats in Bamburgh to have less than 75 years remaining. I am expecting a mortgage with Tesco Bank. Will the property be mortgageable given that the lease has 70 years remaining.
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are obtaining a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Tesco Bank have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 19/3/2026 the requirements read as follows :
My solicitor has informed me that lack of planning permission insurance is necessary on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Bamburgh conveyancing?
The right level of lack of planning permission indemnity insurance should be dictated by who your lender. It would differ for example between Birmingham Midshires and Virgin Money. Conveyancing lawyers as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.
It is unclear whether my lender requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Bamburgh bank branch on numerous occasions and was reassured it wasn't an issue and they would lend. My Bamburgh conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they will not lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
Your lawyer must follow the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook Part 2 specifications for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the lender will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Bamburgh. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an advanced payment of £175. A few days later, the conveyancer called me to say that they were not on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Aldermore panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Should commercial conveyancing searches reveal proposed roadworks that may affect a commercial property in Bamburgh?
Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Bamburgh will perform a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers invest in investigating accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Bamburgh. The search result provides definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Bamburgh.
For every commercial conveyancing transaction in Bamburgh it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been dealt with adequately can result in delays to Bamburgh commercial conveyancing deals as well as pose a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not carried out for residential conveyancing in Bamburgh.
Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Bamburgh before retaining solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend refuse to grant a mortgage on such a premises.
It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions from Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Bamburgh. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Bamburgh especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Bamburgh.
I happen to be an executor of my recently deceased parent's Will, with a property in Bamburgh which will be marketed. The bungalow is unregistered at the Land Registry and I'm advised that many EAs will insist that it is done before they'll move forward. What's the mechanism for this?
In the situation that you have set out it seems sensible to seek to register in the names of the personal representative(s) as named in the probate and in their capacity as PRs. HMLR’s online guidance explains how to register for the first time and what is required re the deeds and forms. You would need to include and certified copy of the probate as well and complete the form FR1 to refer to the PRs as the applicant.