I was recommended to a lawyer who has given a fee calculation of £1150 for no sale no fee conveyancing in Chester le Street. I’m selling a Victorian house for £275,000. Are these conveyancing fees excessive? Is it in excess of the average fee for conveyancing in Chester le Street?

The charges are a bit high. If you shop around you may be able to get the conveyancing a bit cheaper by perhaps a hundred pounds. On the other hand, you couldcome to regret choosing an an unknown conveyancer. If is important to enquire the firm can represent your bank. Do make use of our comparison tool to locate a Chester le Street conveyancing firm on the banks approved list of lawyers which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Chester le Street.

My husband and I are nearing an exchange on a property in Chester le Street and my mum and dad have sent the exchange deposit to my conveyancer. I am now advised that as the deposit has been sent from someone other than me my property lawyer needs to disclose this to my lender. Apparently, in also acting for the lender he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I informed the bank about my parents' contribution when I applied for the home loan, so is it really necessary for him to raise this?

Your property lawyer is duty bound to check with lender to ensure that they know that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. The solicitor can only report this to your lender if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.

four months have gone by since my purchase conveyancing in Chester le Street took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 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 residence 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.

I'm buying my first flat in Chester le Street with a loan from Skipton Building Society. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent advised me not disclose to my conveyancer about the extras as it could adversely affect my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £475,000 flat in Chester le Street in 5 days. The landlords agents has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Chester le Street?

Chester le Street conveyancing on leasehold apartments often requires the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled to invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Chester le Street Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

You should be aware if it is fewer than 80 years it will impact the value of the flat. Check with your lender that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for 24 months in order to be legally able to carry out a lease extension. What restrictions are there in the Chester le Street Lease?