Me and my fiance are hoping to purchase a 3 bedroom flat in North Newbald with a mortgage. We have a North Newbald solicitor, but the lender advise she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the mortgage company panel solicitors or retain our North Newbald solicitor and pay for one of their panel firms to act for them. We regard this is unjust; 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 bank’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. Another option that might be available is for your North Newbald conveyancing solicitor to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

Why do I have to pay up front when it comes to conveyancing in North Newbald?

If you are buying a property in North Newbald your solicitor will request that you place them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. Generally this is asked for to cover the fees of the conveyancing searches. When the down payment is as part of the sale price then this should be needed shortly prior to exchange of contracts. The final balance that is due should be transferred a couple of days prior to the completion date.

My grandmother passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the house in North Newbald. The house had a relatively small loan remaining of approximately £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to TSB, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?

If you plan to re-mortgage then TSB will insist on your using a conveyancer on the TSB conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your TSB conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the TSB mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in North Newbald?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in North Newbald. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in North Newbald. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, but I have recently had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice as normal as all ground rent and service charges will be allotted on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

North Newbald Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Most North Newbald leasehold flats will have a service charge for maintenance of the block set on behalf of the landlord. If you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this contribution, usually in instalments accross the year. This could differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to enquire as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds. Who are the managing agents? The answer will be useful as a) areas could result in problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will need to have all the details