I require conveyancing for a flat in a fairly new development (five years old) in County Durham. 95% of the properties have already been sold. Do I need carry out the neighbourhood searches for my conveyancing in County Durham?
You are putting yourself at risk in not carrying out County Durham conveyancing searches. Without searches you have no clarity over flooding, environmental etc which may mean you walk away due to potential problems down the line. If you are buying without a mortgage there is no legal necessity to have them, but we would strongly advise in no uncertain terms that you have them. If time pressures and cost are primary issues you should discuss with your solicitor about the option of search insurance
How up to date is your search tool for County Durham conveyancing solicitors on the TSB conveyancing panel? Do TSB send you an updated list?
County Durham conveyancing firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the TSB conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from TSB directly.
I just acquired a house at auction in County Durham. Conveyancing is needed. What happens now?
Having legally bound yourself to purchase you should hire the services of a conveyancing practitioner as a matter of priority as you are facing a pending a fixed date to complete the deal. Every auction property will ordinarily have a bespoke auction set of papers. This will likely include most,if not all of the paperwork that your lawyer will need. In the case of leasehold property the auction papers may include a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing paperwork specific to a leasehold property. You should pass this on to the solicitor instructed by you ASAP. Do make sure that you have funds in order to complete the transaction on the set completion date.
We expect to receive a OIP from Yorkshire BS this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Yorkshire BS recommend any County Durham solicitors on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?
You will need to appoint County Durham solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Yorkshire BS through the process.
I have instructed a County Durham lawyer having made sure that they are on the TSB conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
TSB will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually TSB will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own County Durham surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
It has been three months since my purchase conveyancing in County Durham completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
I work for a busy estate agency in County Durham where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local County Durham conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
County Durham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying
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For many County Durham leaseholds the cost for major works tend not to be incorporated into the maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in County Durham ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major works. Best to be warned whether fixing the lift or some other major work is due in the foreseeable future to be shared amongst the leasehold owners and may well materially increase the the maintenance costs or result in a specific payment.
I require the services of a bank panel solicitor in County Durham. Can you assist?
It is not clear why you need a County Durham panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to the mortgage company to find out which solicitors in County Durham are on their panel . If you do find such a firm in County Durham not listed please direct them to our site to list. At a fee of one pound per month it is not expensive to register on the site