I am in the market for a low cost property lawyer. Should I go for for a national conveyancer or a high street Cleator conveyancing solicitor?

On the whole conveyancing solicitors in your neck of the woods will have good alliances with your local authority, which could assist with the Cleator conveyancing searches that your lawyer will need to carry out. It also helps if they have existing connections with the Local Land Registry Office your area Cleator, other lawyers in the area and Cleator selling agents.

I am need of leasehold conveyancing for a flat in a fairly new development (6 years built) in Cleator. Almost all the appartments are already disposed of. Is it really necessary to order conveyancing searches for my conveyancing in Cleator?

A big part of the Cleator conveyancing process is the conveyancing searches. There are a large number of search providers who offer Cleator conveyancing searches, as well direct from the local authority. These are usually referred to as personal search organisation and they produce, not surprisingly, personal searches. However, all Local Authority Search conveyancing products have one thing in common - they must obtain their information from the local authoritative source.

We had instructed conveyancers located in Cleator on the RBS solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a separate amount for the legal aspects of the RBS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by RBS?

As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your conveyancer can charge a fee for this. This charge is not set by RBS but by your Cleator conveyancer. Some firms on the RBS panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but plenty of practices include it on their overall fee.

I have a mortgage with Virgin Money for my property in Cleator. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Virgin Money?

You must advise Virgin Money prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Virgin Money’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies 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. It should not be necessary to do this via a Virgin Money conveyancing panel firm.

Having digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Cleator solicitor - who is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?

Leeds Building Society will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Leeds Building Society 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 property lawyer 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 Cleator postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Leeds Building Society, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Cleator.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Cleator?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Cleator. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Cleator. Conveyancing is a frightening process 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 is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Cleator

Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Please supply a car parking plan. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry.