Our family solicitor has sent a quote for just over a thousand pound for freehold conveyancing in Newburn. I’m selling a Georgian property for £175,000. This sounds expensive. Is it in excess of the norm for conveyancing in Newburn?

The charges are a tad high. If you are content to expend time comparing charges you may be able to trim some of the expense by perhaps £125. That being said, you maycome to rue choosing an an unknown conveyancer. If is important to enquire the firm can represent your bank. Do use our comparison tool to get a quote a Newburn conveyancing company on the banks conveyancing panel which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Newburn.

My wife and I are soon to exchange buying a house in Newburn but as a consequence of damage from some water damage at the property I have was able negotiate reparation from the current proprietors of £3k taking the form of a adjustment in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of amending the contract however HSBC are not allowing this. Should they have been involved?

The conveyancer being on a HSBC approved list is obliged to advise HSBC of any changes to the sale price. If you prohibit your lawyer to notify the reduction to HSBC then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, HSBC and you would have to appoint a new lawyer for your conveyancing in Newburn.

We are buying a house and the conveyancer has referenced Chancel Repair to which the property could be obligated to pay because it falls into the area of such a church. She has recommended insurance. Is this really required for conveyancing in Newburn

Unless a previous purchase of the premises took place post 12 October 2013 you may assume that conveyancing practitioners conducting conveyancing in Newburn to remain encouraging a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Newburn. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, however I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the maintenance contribution as you normally would given that all rents and maintenance invoices should be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Newburn Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Are there any major works on the horizon that could increase the service costs? The majority of Newburn leasehold properties will have a service charge for the upkeep of the block set on behalf of the management company. If you purchase the property you will have to pay this contribution, normally periodically accross the year. This could differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.

We own a leasehold flat in Newburn. Conveyancing was finished in last year. I have heard that I mustn’t allow the lease length fall too low. What is the reasoning?

Newburn leasehold properties are for a set period - normally 99 years when they started. However many appartments in Newburn were built or converted 30 or more years ago and so these leases now have less than 80 years left to run. This may seem like a long time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage lenders generally require leases to have at least 75 years unexpired to adequate security. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are getting close to 75 years. To optimize the saleability of your property you should be considering whether or not to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. There are also strong financial reasons to doing so before the lease hits 80 years as when the lease falls below eighty years the amount to be paid to extend starts to increase.