My brother-in-law has suggested I instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Roker. I I would like to check if they are accepted on the Santander conveyancing panel. Can you or the lender confirm if they are on the panel?

You should call your solicitor and enquire if they are on the lender panel. Otherwise please get in touch with Santander who may be able to help.

We are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our property in Roker and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. Any high street Roker lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers are using an internet conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Roker. We have lived in Roker for 4 years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to get confirmation that the buyers are looking for.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer already. Are they able to advise? You need to check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)

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

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Roker. 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…’

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Roker is the location of the property. Can you offer any guidance?

Flying freeholds in Roker are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Roker you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Roker may determine 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.

18 days into a sale of a flat in Roker. Conveyancing solicitors are doing their job but we have been asked to pay a fortune from the freeholder. To date we have issued a cheque for £237 for a leasehold management information and then another £134.40 for additional questions raised by the buyers conveyancer.

You will not have control over the level of the bill for this information however the average fee for the information for Roker leasehold premises is £355. When it comes to Roker conveyancing sales it is standard for the vendor to pay for these charges. The landlord or their agents are not duty bound to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at high prices disproportionate to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no legislation that requires set charges for administrative tasks. Nor is there any set time limit by which they are required to provide the information.