My mortgage broker requires my Alnwick lawyer’ panel member for the Nat West conveyancing panel. How do I discover this. I have e-mailed my local Alnwick branch but they have not got back to me yet.

Have you tried calling your Alnwick conveyancer about this?. Most Alnwick law practices will keep a file or database of lender panel information which would include, if applicable, their conveyancing panel details for each bank.

Do the Building Society Association intend to launch a search tool with a view to to identify firms on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society conveyancing panel for instance in Alnwick?

Lexsure has not been advised of any intention on the part of the BSA to develop such a tool.

I have a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Alnwick. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Halifax. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You need to review 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 Alnwick and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also check the position with the conveyancing practitioner who completed the work.

I have been on the look out for a flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Alnwick I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 49 years on the lease. There is not much else in Alnwick in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years left on my lease in Alnwick. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Alnwick.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Alnwick - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Does the lease have onerous restrictions? Be sure to enquire if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance it is very common in Alnwick leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Alnwick. If you like the apartmentin Alnwick but your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced difficult determination. The answer will be helpful as a) areas may result in problems in the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have all the details