I am purchasing a newly built apartment in North Shields and my solicitor is informing me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to reveal incentives from the builder. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange and I have no desire to prolong the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a mortgage company panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

What can a local search reveal regarding the house I am buying in North Shields?

North Shields conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations such as Onsearch The local search is essential in every North Shields conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any nasty surprises after you move into your new home. The search will provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of 13 topic areas.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in North Shields. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in North Shields

Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Please supply a car parking plan. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. 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.

Should I go with a North Shields conveyancing practitioner in close proximity to the house I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can handle the legal formalities however her office is over three hundred kilometers away.

The benefit of a local North Shields conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to execute documents, present your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local knowledge which is a plus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will do a good and efficient job. If you know people who used your friend and in the main were impressed that should outweigh using an unfamiliar North Shields conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being North Shields based.

What are the specific advantages to using a high street conveyancing practitioner in North Shields

Plenty of house movers in North Shields decide on using a local conveyancing practitioner so that they can attend the lawyer’s offices if they have questions, and to collect mortgage deeds without using the Royal Mail.

We would suggest that there exists a slight advantage when using a solicitor local to the property you are hoping to purchase, due to the knowledge of the area and possible local concerns - however this is debatable. Most conveyancers carry out their communications through email and could be based anywhere.