My wife and I are purchasing a property in Cramlington. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? On the day of competition we will need to deposit our life savings into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

I'm spending time viewing apartments in Cramlington and I am about to put in an offer. Is it advisable to have my conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a mortgage with Clydesdale.

You should start requesting conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the selling agent. Given that you are getting a mortgage with Clydesdale, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Cramlington. I have a mortgage offer with Santander. 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 Santander, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Santander conveyancing panel.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build apartment in Cramlington. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Here are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Cramlington

Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I have offered on last month in what should have been a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Cramlington is where the house is located. What do you suggest?

Flying freeholds in Cramlington are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Cramlington you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Cramlington may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.

I'm converting the mortgage on my existing house to a BTL loan with Alliance & Leicester and I will use the rest of the raised equity as a down payment on a second house. The area we are interested in is Cramlington. Will your conveyancers be able to act for the two banks and tie in the two deals?

Do use our search tool on this site to check that the solicitors are approved by both mortgage companies. Having checked that they are your solicitor should be able to connect the two conveyancing matters but you should have a chat with you solicitor and make clear your desired outcome and needs.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Cramlington conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Cramlington conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggest that you talk with two or three firms including non Cramlington conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions might be of use:

If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

Cramlington Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

The majority of Cramlington leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building levied on behalf of the landlord. Should you buy the flat you will have to pay this charge, usually quarterly during the year. This can differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to check as sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. Does the lease have in excess of 90 years left? For most Cramlington leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be incorporated into the maintenance charges, although there some managing agents in Cramlington obliged tenants to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger works.