Completed the sale of my flat in East Boldon last November yet the purchaser is texting every few hours complaining that her lawyer is waiting to hear from mysolicitor. What should have happened now that I have sold?

After completion of your disposal your lawyer is obliged to deliver the transfer deeds and all supplemental paperwork to the buyer’s solicitors. If applicable, your solicitor should also send confirmation that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been redeemed to the purchasers solicitors. There is unlikely to be post completion procedures specific conveyancing in East Boldon.

The East Boldon conveyancing solicitors that I appointed last week on my purchase in East Boldon have suddenly closed. They were on acting for me because I had to have a solicitor on the Co-operative conveyancing panel and my preferred East Boldon lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take one hundred and fifty pounds for searches. What do I do now?

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to assist.

Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in East Boldon before instructing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. My surveyor advised that some banks may not issue a loan on such a home.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions from Nationwide. If you contact us we can investigate further via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in East Boldon. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in East Boldon especially if they are accustomed to such properties in East Boldon.

Are there frequently found defects that you witness in leases for East Boldon properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in East Boldon. All leases are drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall Insurance obligations

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , The Mortgage Works, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I acquired a garden flat in East Boldon, conveyancing was carried out in 2004. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in East Boldon with over 90 years remaining are worth £201,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2088

With just 64 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £14,300 and £16,400 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

How do I determine who owns a property in East Boldon?

On the basis that the property is recorded at the Land Registry, and you have enough details of the address of the premises, you should be able to view results from the the Land Registry of the recorded owner for a for less than a fiver.