We just had an offer accepted to buy with Darlington Building Society. We have called around locally but cant to find a Kirkby conveyancing firm on the Darlington Building Society panel. Can you help?

Feel free to make use of the find a lender approved solicitor tool on this web page. Pick the building society and type Kirkby or your location and you will be presented with a number of lawyer based in Kirkby or by proximity to you.

Various internet forums that I have frequented warn that are the number one reason for hinderance in Kirkby house deals. Is that correct?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) released determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the common causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are not likely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Kirkby.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Kirkby is where the house is located. What do you suggest?

Flying freeholds in Kirkby are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Kirkby you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Kirkby may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.

Am I best advised to appoint a Kirkby conveyancing lawyer in close proximity to the house I am buying? We have a good friend who can execute the legal work however they are based a couple of hundredkilometers away.

The primary upside of using a local Kirkby conveyancing firm is that you can drop in to sign paperwork, present your identification documents and pester them where appropriate. They will also have local intelligence which is a bonus. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who instructed your friend and the majority were impressed that should outweigh using an unknown Kirkby conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being round the corner.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Kirkby conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kirkby conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggest that you make enquires with several firms including non Kirkby conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions might be helpful:

How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation? If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

I invested in buying a garden flat in Kirkby, conveyancing was carried out in 2003. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar properties in Kirkby with an extended lease are worth £186,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2077

With 52 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £29,500 and £34,000 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 cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.