I have given 8 weeks notice to my current landlord and must leave my rented flat in Peterlee by 25/6/2024. Conveyancing for my house purchase is underway. How realistic is it to complete in 5 weeks as don't want to have to move into short term accommodation?

The normal practice is not to provide notice for your letting unless your lawyer suggests that you should. Assuming that you have not previously done so, contact to your lawyer and urge them to they cajole the sellers solicitors, try to an acceptable time-line that everyone will look to achieve

I currently have a mortgage with Virgin Money for my property in Peterlee. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Virgin Money?

You must advise Virgin Money in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Virgin Money’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Virgin Money will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Virgin Money directly. You need not do this via a Virgin Money conveyancing panel firm.

I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in November 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Principality are being problematic. The Peterlee solicitor who is on the Principality conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but Principality are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Principality have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Principality have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Principality may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

After shopping around on the internet I have found a Peterlee solicitor having made sure that they are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Coventry BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Coventry BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Peterlee surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

Will our conveyancer be raising enquiries about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Peterlee.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for conveyancers conducting conveyancing in Peterlee. Plenty of people will buy a property in Peterlee, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.

Solicitors are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a various checks that can be carried out by the purchaser or by their conveyancers which will figure out the risks in Peterlee. The conventional set of completed inquiry forms given to a buyer’s lawyer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a usual question of the seller to discover if the premises has suffered from flooding. If the property has been flooded in past which is not disclosed by the owner, then a buyer may issue a legal claim for losses resulting from an inaccurate response. The buyer’s lawyers should also conduct an enviro search. This will reveal if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional inquiries will need to be initiated.

About to purchase a new build flat in Peterlee. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Peterlee

Please supply a car parking plan. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. The Landlord must covenant to assume the management if the Management Company goes into liquidation or otherwise defaults in running the management scheme. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Peterlee. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Peterlee Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

It is important to be aware whether fixing the lift or some other major work is coming up that will be shared between the leasehold owners and will dramatically increase the the service fees or require a specific payment. Does the lease have onerous restrictions? The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees benefit from control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.