We are buying a new build apartment in Boldon and my conveyancer is telling me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the seller. I am on a tight deadline to sign contracts and my preference is not to delay the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your solicitor. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook conditions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

Can you point me to a directory of RBS panel solicitors in Boldon on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?

No. There is no such directory service on the CML or Building Society Association sites. Very few mortgage companies make their panel listings visible over the internet. Where you are in need of a Boldon property lawyer on the RBS please use our facility.

Is it the case that all Boldon solicitor practices on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel are regulated by the SRA?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel they would need to be governed by the SRA. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel and in that case the organisation would be governed by the CLC.

We had selected conveyancing lawyers based in Boldon on the Principality solicitor panel. They are now charging me a separate amount for dealing with the Principality mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Principality?

As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your conveyancing practitioner is entitled to charge a fee for this. This charge is not set by Principality but by your Boldon lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Principality panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee but plenty of practices incorporate it on their overall fee.

I used Wolstenholmes a few years past for my conveyancing in Boldon. I now require my file however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Boldon of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

Am I right to be concerned by 3rd parties that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a national conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Boldon conveyancing practice?

As is the case with many service providers, often suggestions from relatives can be worth their weight in gold. Yet there are numerous parties with a keen interest in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, financial adviser and banks may put forward conveyancers to instruct. On occasion the solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there may be a commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You are free to appoint your own conveyancer. However, bear in mind that the majority of banks operate an approved list of law firms you have to use for the lender aspect of your transaction.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Boldon where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Boldon conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate 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 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

I am the registered owner of a 1 bedroom flat in Boldon, conveyancing formalities finalised July 1996. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Equivalent flats in Boldon with over 90 years remaining are worth £207,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2076

With only 57 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £28,500 and £33,000 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.