I am purchasing a right to buy a flat in Berwick Upon Tweed. Can I do my own conveyancing?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Berwick Upon Tweed you will have to appoint a solicitor on your lender's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Berwick Upon Tweed.

We previously selected solicitors based in Berwick Upon Tweed on the Kent Reliance solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a separate amount for dealing with the Kent Reliance mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Kent Reliance?

As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your solicitor can levy a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Kent Reliance but by your Berwick Upon Tweed conveyancer. Plenty of firms on the Kent Reliance panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.

After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Berwick Upon Tweed. My financial adviser suggested a property lawyer. I paid an on account payment of £225. Shortly after, the property lawyer contacted me to say that they were not on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the HSBC panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

Intending to buy a maisonette in Berwick Upon Tweed. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Principality conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Berwick Upon Tweed lawyer is on the Principality conveyancing panel.

I'm buying a new build house in Berwick Upon Tweed with a loan from The Royal Bank of Scotland. The builders refused to reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The property agent suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about the extras as it may adversely affect my mortgage with The Royal Bank of Scotland. 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.

I need to retain a conveyancing solicitor for purchase conveyancing in Berwick Upon Tweed. I happened to discover a site which looks to be the perfect offering If there is a chance to get all the legals completed via web that would be ideal. Do I need to be wary? What should out be looking out for?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Berwick Upon Tweed from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Berwick Upon Tweed can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers’ conveyancers.
In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Berwick Upon Tweed state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance. Many landlords or Management Companies in Berwick Upon Tweed charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Berwick Upon Tweed. If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Berwick Upon Tweed conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Berwick Upon Tweed, conveyancing formalities finalised 9 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Berwick Upon Tweed with a long lease are worth £181,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease terminates on 21st October 2076

With 51 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £30,400 and £35,200 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.