This question may be naive but I am unseasoned as FTB of a ground floor flat in Shotley Bridge. Do I receive the keys to the property on the completion date from my lawyer? If so, I will find a local conveyancing solicitor in Shotley Bridge?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will electronically transfer the purchase money to the seller's lawyers, and once they have received this, you should be called to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Shotley Bridge off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Clydesdale. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Clydesdale, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel.

I have instructed a Shotley Bridge conveyancer having checked that they are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Yorkshire BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Yorkshire 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. Your conveyancing practitioner will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Shotley Bridge postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Shotley Bridge.

It has been 2 months since my purchase conveyancing in Shotley Bridge concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

How does conveyancing in Shotley Bridge differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Shotley Bridge come to us having been asked by the developer to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because builders in Shotley Bridge tend to acquire the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Shotley Bridge or who has acted in the same development.

Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Shotley Bridge in advance of appointing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor has said that some lenders will refuse to give a mortgage on such a property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can check with the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Shotley Bridge. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Shotley Bridge to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £150,000 flat in Shotley Bridge next Monday. The management company has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Shotley Bridge?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Shotley Bridge conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

Answering pre-exchange questions Where consent is required before sale in Shotley Bridge Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Shotley Bridge leasehold property is £350. For Shotley Bridge conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide answers.

Shotley Bridge Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

How long is the Lease? What is the name of the managing agents? The best form of lease arrangement is where the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders.