I have justbeen informed that Stirling Law have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Longbenton for a purchase of a leasehold flat 10 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest way to check if the property is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Longbenton conveyancing specialists.

I am purchasing my first flat in Longbenton with a loan from HSBC Bank. The builders refused to reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The property agent told me not reveal to my lawyer about this side-deal as it could put at risk my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one round the corner in Longbenton I like with a park and transport links nearby, however it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Longbenton in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will be an issue. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.

What does commercial conveyancing in Longbenton cover?

Longbenton conveyancing for business premises covers a wide range of services, supplied by qualified solicitors, relating to business premises. For instance, this area of conveyancing can cover the sale or purchase of freehold business premises or, more commonly, the transfer of existing leases or the drafting of new leasing arrangements. Commercial conveyancing solicitors can also offer advice on the sale of business assets, commercial loans and the termination of leases.

Should I go with a Longbenton conveyancing lawyer who is local to the property I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can perform the conveyancing but her office is a couple of hundredmiles away.

The benefit of a local Longbenton conveyancing practice is that you can drop in to execute documents, deliver your ID and apply pressure on them if necessary. Having local Longbenton know how is a benefit. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have instructed your friend and in the main were impressed that must outweigh using an unfamiliar Longbenton conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being local.