Completed the sale of my flat in Sedgefield last November yet the purchaser is Skype messaging daily to say their conveyancer is waiting to hear from myconveyancer. What are the post completion sale legalities following completion?

After completion of your disposal your lawyer is committed to send the transfer documentation and all of the paperwork to the buyer’s conveyancer. Depending on the transaction, your lawyer must also evidence that the home loan has been paid off to the purchasers conveyancers. There are no post completion requirements unique to conveyancing in Sedgefield.

I have recentlyfound out that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Sedgefield for a purchase of a leasehold apartment 12 months ago. How can I establish that the property is in my name in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest way to see if the property is in your name, 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 Sedgefield conveyancing specialists.

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one near me in Sedgefield I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Sedgefield in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?

Should you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be an issue. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Sedgefield. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Sedgefield who acted for me is not around. Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Sedgefield conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Sedgefield Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Many Sedgefield leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block levied by the landlord. Where you purchase the flat you will have to pay this liability, normally periodically accross the year. This can be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, this is usually not a significant amount, say around £25-£75 but you should to enquire as occasionally it can be surprisingly expensive. If a Sedgefield lease has no more than 80 years it will impact the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Sedgefieldlease extensions you will be be obliged to have owned the residence for a couple of years before you are legally able to carry out a lease extension.

I am just shy of a 10% deposit on my house purchase in Sedgefield , but I am anxious go ahead. What can I do?

One option is to try and accept a lesser deposit. Most sellers will agree to a lower deposit or even no deposit for a first time buyer or 100% mortgage. Be aware though that if you fail to complete you will still need to hand over a minimum of 10% of the purchase price regardless of how much deposit was agreed.

You can also agree a simultaneous exchange and completion as no deposit is required for this however neither party will be tied in until completion actually takes place and it can be risky if sellers change their mind at the last second