It is a dozen years since I purchased my property in Consett. Conveyancing lawyers have now been instructed on the sale but I can't find the title documents. Will this cause complications?

Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be kept by your mortgage company or they could still be with the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly the likelihood is that the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you are the registered owner by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. The vast majority of conveyancing in Consett involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it is more problematic but is not insurmountable.

A friend recommended that if I am buying in Consett I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is sometimes included in the estimate for your Consett conveyancing searches. It is a large report of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing important information about Consett around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Consett Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Consett Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Consett.

How does conveyancing in Consett differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in Consett contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is completed. This is because developers in Consett usually buy the site, 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 Consett or who has acted in the same development.

I am hoping to complete next month on a garden flat in Consett. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Consett should include some of the following:

if lease has a provision for a slush fund? Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring? The landlord’s rights to access the flat. You should be made aware that your landlord has rights of access as well as be informed how much notice must be provided. It needs to be made clear to you whether the lease allows you to add or upgrade anything in the property- you should be made aware as to whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether licences for alterations is required

I purchased a split level flat in Consett, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in Consett with an extended lease are worth £176,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2104

You have 80 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

We are about to purchasing a flat in Consett. Conveyancing is not over but we would like have our transaction price confidential from the likes of Zoopla. Is this achievable and how?

The Land Registry as a matter of law obliged to specify price sold information on a register of the title for residential properties nationwide including homes in Consett. The register of title is a public document, so HM Land Registry would be breaching their statutory duty if they failed to permit access to the register.

You can make a request of the Land Registry to hide the price paid data however the answer would be a No.