My husband and I wish to acquire a newly converted flat in Stokesley with a mortgage from National Westminster Bank.We would like to retain our Stokesley conveyancing lawyer but National Westminster Bank says she’s not on their approved list of member firms. We have to appoint a National Westminster Bank panel firm or keep our high street solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to act for them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that National Westminster Bank use our lawyer?

Unfortunately,no. The loan issued to you is subject to its terms and conditions, a common one being that lawyers needs to be on the National Westminster Bank approved list. in the past, most banks 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 lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for National Westminster Bank

We are purchasing a house in Stokesley. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? On completion day we will need to send funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

What is your number one tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Stokesley

It would be unwise to be seduced by the cheapest Stokesley conveyancing costs illustration. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.

I had an offer accepted on a property in Stokesley on 20/1/2025, valuation was booked 3 days later, all came back fine. Conveyancer retained, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to HSBC and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Are HSBC entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

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

Me and my brother purchased a semi-detached Georgian property in Stokesley. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Bank of Ireland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Stokesley and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with the conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on a fortnight ago in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Stokesley is the location of the property. Is there any guidance you can give?

Flying freeholds in Stokesley are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Stokesley 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 Stokesley 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 a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Stokesley where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Stokesley conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor 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 kick-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 wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with 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 buyer.

I bought a studio flat in Stokesley, conveyancing was carried out 9 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Stokesley with an extended lease are worth £227,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2097

With 72 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.