I am buying a new build flat in Sedgefield. Conveyancing solicitors are said to be ‘a necessary evil’ but can I do it myself?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Sedgefield you will have to appoint a solicitor on your bank's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Sedgefield.

Me and my partner are purchasing a apartment in Sedgefield. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On the day of competition we will need to deposit money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

I happen to be the sole beneficiary of my late mum's estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Sedgefield. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in March. I want to move. I do know about the CML six month 'rule', meaning my property ownership could be treated the same way as if I'd bought the property in March. Will no one buy the property for half a year?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook requires solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you might be impacted by that. How practical a view banks take of it, depend on the bank as this requirement is primarily there to pick up on subsales or the flipping of property.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with UBS. I assume I don't need a Sedgefield conveyancing practitioner on the UBS panel to discharge the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.

If you have finished paying off your UBS mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the UBS mortgage from the register. UBS, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where UBS has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. UBS has instructed the Land Registry to do so

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Sedgefield?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Sedgefield. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Sedgefield with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sedgefield can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
The majority of landlords or Management Companies in Sedgefield charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Sedgefield. A minority of Sedgefield leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I purchased a split level flat in Sedgefield, conveyancing was carried out July 2001. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent properties in Sedgefield with an extended lease are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2084

With only 60 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £20,000 and £23,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Do lenders provide you with an approved list of Sedgefield solicitors? How do you know who is on the bank conveyancing panel?

Sedgefield law firm practices and firms carrying out conveyancing in Sedgefield themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from the lender directly.