Me and my partner are planning to buy a 3 bedroom apartment in Kirkwhelpington with a mortgage. We would like to retain our Kirkwhelpington conveyancer, however the lender says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or continue with our Kirkwhelpington conveyancing practitioner as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to act for them. This feels very unfair; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer 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 Kirkwhelpington conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

When does exchange of contracts happen for domestic conveyancing in Kirkwhelpington and am I required to be at the conveyancers branch?

If you are local to our conveyancing solicitors in Kirkwhelpington you are welcome to attend to sign contracts. That being said, the lender approved solicitors we recommend supply a nationwide conveyancing service and provide as equally comprehensive and professional a job for you when dealing with you electronically. The executing of the contract is not the point of no return. A signed contract is necessary for the solicitor to exchange contracts when the time is right, which is ordinarily shortly after signing. The procedure is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where an extended "chain" is in play, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Kirkwhelpington)to be in the office at the appropriate time.

How does conveyancing in Kirkwhelpington differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build property in Kirkwhelpington come to us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is built. This is because new home sellers in Kirkwhelpington usually acquire the real estate, 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 property lawyers 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 used to new build conveyancing in Kirkwhelpington or who has acted in the same development.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on a fortnight ago in what should have been a quick, chain free conveyancing. Kirkwhelpington is the location of the property. Can you offer any advice?

Flying freeholds in Kirkwhelpington are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Kirkwhelpington you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Kirkwhelpington 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 property.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Kirkwhelpington where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Kirkwhelpington conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Kirkwhelpington - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge liability? It is important to be aware whether changing the roof or some other significant cost is due in the foreseeable future to be shared by the leaseholders and may well materially impact the level of the service costs or necessitate a specific payment.