I am searching for value for money conveyancer. Do I opt for a nationwide conveyancer as opposed to a local Newhaven conveyancing lawyer?

Newhaven is a unique place, where local insight counts for a lot. The laid-back lifestyle has it’s attractions – just not for your house move. The conveyancers that we recommend providing a wealth of Newhaven knowledge with a professional, hands-onapproach that ensures everything runs smoothly. It is a distinct advantage where they can make use of good relationships with financial advisers, estate agents, valuers and other Newhaven conveyancing firms

What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Newhaven? What am I being asked for?

Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering laws require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the potential client they are dealing with prior to agreeing to accepting their conveyancing retainer. The Terms and Conditions that you are required to sign should stipulate this. Your lender will also require certain documents to be checked. Should you are unwilling to supply ID verification documents, your solicitor can not take you on as a client.

Is it the case that all Newhaven solicitors on the Skipton conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Skipton approved list of solicitors they would need to be governed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of banks do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be overseen by the CLC.

My husband and I are in the throws of viewing flats in Newhaven and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it sensible to have a conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a mortgage with RBS.

It would be wise to commence your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the estate agent. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with RBS, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the RBS conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I had an offer accepted on a house in Newhaven on 14/1/2025, valuation was booked 3 days after, all came back fine. Solicitor instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Skipton and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Are Skipton entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Skipton to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Skipton conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I work for a long established estate agency in Newhaven where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Newhaven conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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 can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

I acquired a split level flat in Newhaven, conveyancing formalities finalised May 2012. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Newhaven with an extended lease are worth £222,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2096

With just 71 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.

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 investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Is planning permission needed to convert a house into a couple of flats in Newhaven? This has occurred to a property adjacent to a friend in Newhaven and was ignorant of it happening until after the works were finished.

Planning permission is needed for converting a single dwelling in Newhaven into flats but probably not for reverting once again to single dwelling-house so, in answer to your question, yes,a it is required.