Is it the case that all Hebburn CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Skipton conveyancing panel?

It is true that some banks and building societies now use CQS as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to join their panels.

Does a directory service exist listing Aldermore panel solicitors in Hebburn on the Building Society Association’s Website?

No. There is no such directory service on the CML or Building Society Association websites. Very few mortgage companies make their panel listings open the public online. If you are seeking to appoint a Hebburn conveyancer on the Aldermore please use our facility.

I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Hebburn. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £175. Soon after, the conveyancer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Bank of Ireland panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

Various web forums that I have visited warn that are the main cause of stalling in Hebburn conveyancing transactions. Is that correct?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published conclusions of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure within the top 10 causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Hebburn.

How difficult is it to change conveyancer as I need to choose a firm on the Britannia conveyancing list. I instructed a local conveyancing solicitor in Hebburn round the corner but he is not accepted by Britannia

It would be our pleasure to assist you find a conveyancing solicitor in Hebburn on the Britannia panel. Please note that the conveyancers that we work with do not pay us fee if you instruct them and are under regulation of the Solicitors Regulation Authority who oversee all conveyancing solicitors in Hebburn. Using the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this page, you can compare costs for conveyancing solicitors in Hebburn and throughout England and Wales.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hebburn with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hebburn can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers’ representatives.
A minority of Hebburn leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. 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 able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors. If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled. You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I acquired a garden flat in Hebburn, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2001. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding flats in Hebburn with an extended lease are worth £176,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2069

With just 50 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as costs.

The figure above 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 the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

I have been looking for Hebburn online conveyancing estimates. Can I be assured that all the Hebburn firms that are identified on your website are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel?

The law firms on our directory have advised us that they are on the bank panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the mortgage company panel. To date we have not been informed by either a lender or a member of the public that the data about a specific Hebburn conveyancing solicitor being on the lender conveyancing panel is incorrect.