I am in the market for a reasonably priced property lawyer. Should I go for for a national conveyancer rather than a local Lake District conveyancing lawyer?

Established third party relationships are another important factor to consider when appointing conveyancing lawyers. Lake District conveyancers enjoy connections with financial advisers and agents, local authorities, surveyors and other conveyancing firms meaning you will move in shortest possible time. Having specialist knowledge of the local area is also a plus .

When it comes to lenders such as Aldermore, do Lake District lawyers have to pay a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

Completion of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Lake District. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?

All lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Team at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are sorted out effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.

At last I have had an offer on an apartment in Lake District accepted, but there is a chain. The sellers have offered on somewhere, but it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other flats booked. I have instructed a local conveyancing solicitor in Lake District. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage application with Nationwide going?

It is usual to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (home loan application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, Lake District conveyancing search charges, etc). First, you must ensure that your property lawyer is on the Nationwide approved list. As to the next steps this very much dictated by the specifics of your transaction, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. During a rising market many home buyers will apply for the mortgage with Nationwide and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they request their lawyer to proceed with searches.

I am buying a new build apartment in Lake District. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.

Here are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Lake District

Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease.

I was pointed in your direction by numerous estate agents in Lake District to locate a solicitor using your seach tool. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to market your site over alternative conveyancing organisations?

We refuse to make any commission for sending work in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand a fee as a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Lake District. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Lake District are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Lake District so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Lake District conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

Lake District Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Who manages the building? Best to be warned if window replacement or some other major work is due shortly to be shared between the leaseholders and could well dramatically increase the the maintenance fees or necessitate a specific payment. Please tell me if there are any major works in the planning that will likely add a premium to the service fees?