In reviewing consumer advice sites for an online lawyer in City of Darlington, many comment that I should instruct a CQS assured solicitor. Can you explain what CQS is?

The Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme is the recognised kitemark for legal experts in home ownership transfers, trusted by some of the UK's major mortgage companies. Four years ago the Conveyancing Quality Scheme was officially recognised by the Building Societies Association (BSA). CQS is not a scheme offered by the Society for Licensed Conveyancers. City of Darlington is one of the many areas of the UK where there are CQS solicitors.

If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in City of Darlington what would it be?

We would encourage you not to go for the cheapest City of Darlington conveyancing costs illustration. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to property lawyers. 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 know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of the deal.

We previously instructed solicitors with offices in City of Darlington on the Santander solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me a further amount for handling the Santander mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Santander?

As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your conveyancer is entitled to levy a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by Santander but by your City of Darlington conveyancing practitioner. Some firms on the Santander panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in City of Darlington off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Barclays. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Barclays, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Barclays conveyancing panel.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and found one round the corner in City of Darlington I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in City of Darlington suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?

If you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you could request that they start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.

My husband and I are new to the buying process - agreed a price, but the estate agent advised that the vendor will only go ahead if we use their recommended conveyancers as they are insisting on an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a family conveyancer used to conveyancing in City of Darlington

We suspect that the seller is not behind this ultimatum. Should the owner desire ‘a quick sale', turning down a genuine purchaser is is going to put the whole deal at risk. Try to communicate with the sellers directly and make the point that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to progress, with mortgage lined up © you are unencumbered (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)but you are going to use your preferred City of Darlington conveyancing lawyers - rather thanthe ones that will provide the negotiator at the agency a kickback or meet his conveyancing targets pre-set by head office.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in City of Darlington. Conveyancing has not commenced, however I have recently had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice as you normally would given that all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment 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.

I own a ground floor flat in City of Darlington, conveyancing having been completed January 2005. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in City of Darlington with a long lease are worth £190,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2087

You have 62 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £17,100 and £19,800 plus costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account 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.