we are a couple who are buying a 1 bedroom apartment in Amble with a residential mortgage from Alliance & Leicester .We would like to retain our Amble conveyancing practitioner but Alliance & Leicester says she’s not listed on their "panel". we are left little option but to use a Alliance & Leicester panel lawyer or keep our high street solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The loan issued to you is subject to its terms and conditions, a common one being that conveyancers must be on the Alliance & Leicester approved list. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of solicitors on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Alliance & Leicester

My partner and I are downsizing from our property in Amble and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed land that was not decontaminated. Any high street Amble lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers used a national conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Amble. We have lived in Amble for six years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to get clarification need.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same sickness)

Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Amble ahead of retaining conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. The surveyor advised that some banks tend not issue a mortgage on a flying freehold property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Halifax. If you contact us we can look into this further via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Amble. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Amble especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Amble.

Is it possible to transfer to a new solicitor as I need to appoint one who is on the Virgin Money conveyancing list. I instructed a high street conveyancing solicitor in Amble round the corner but he is not accepted by Virgin Money

It would be our pleasure to assist you find a conveyancing solicitor in Amble on the Virgin Money panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we work with do not pay us a referral fee if you instruct them and are authorised and regulated by the SRA who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Amble. In utilising the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this site, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Amble.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Amble. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Leasehold Conveyancing in Amble - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

You will want to discover as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they can either make living at the property much easier or uncomfortable. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day matters like the upkeep of the communal areas. Enquire of other people what they think of them. Finally, investigate as to the dates that the service charges are due to the managing agents and precisely what you get for your money. Can you tell me if there are any major works on the horizon that will likely add a premium to the service fees? Most Amble leasehold properties will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the block set by the landlord. Where you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this amount, normally periodically throughout the year. This could vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, normally this is not a exorbitant sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire as occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds.