Me and my partner are planning to buy a 3 bedroom apartment in Darlington with a mortgage. We have a Darlington conveyancer, but the bank says he's not on their "panel". It seems we have no option but to appoint one of the bank panel firms or keep our Darlington conveyancing practitioner and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We regard this is inequitable; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the lender’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Darlington conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

I require fast conveyancing in Darlington as I am under pressure to complete inside one month. A mortgage is not required. Can I decline from having conveyancing searches to save fees and time?

As you are are a cash purchaser you are at liberty not to have searches carried out although no conveyancer would recommend that you don't. Drawing on years of experience of conveyancing in Darlington the following are examples of what can crop up and adversely affect market value: Enforcement Notices, Outstanding Fees, Outstanding Grants, Unadopted Roads,...

I have recentlybeen informed that Action Conveyancing have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Darlington for a purchase of a leasehold flat 12 months ago. How can I check that my home is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?

The easiest way to see if the premises is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Darlington conveyancing specialists.

I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for some conveyancing in Darlington. I happened to land on a site which looks to be the ideal solution If there is a chance to get all the legals completed via phone that would be preferable. Should I be concerned? 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?

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Darlington. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Darlington who previously acted has long since retired. Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Darlington conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Darlington, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar properties in Darlington with an extended lease are worth £211,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2093

With 68 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.