We were about to retain a conveyancing solicitor in Darlington found using your search tool but stumbled across alternative costs illustrations on the internet seem cheaper – how come?

There are many firms of solicitors advertising theoretically looks to be very low prices. We would urge you to think twice as to how much you respect your own move to want to be penny wise pound foolish with regard to the standard of the legal work. Many of them highlight a budget fee to grab your attention but bury additional fees in the fine print..

My wife and I own a renovated Edwardian house in Darlington. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and The Mortgage Works. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same property. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for 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 Darlington and other areas of 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 lenders. You can also enquire as to the position with your conveyancing solicitor who carried out the work.

Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Darlington prior to instructing lawyers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold element to the property. Our surveyor advised that some lenders tend not issue a loan on this type of house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Nationwide. If you contact us we can look into this further via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Darlington. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

As co-executor for the will of my aunt I am selling a residence in Monmouth but I am based in Darlington. My solicitor (approximately 200 kilometers from merequires that I sign a stat dec prior to the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Darlington who can attest and place their company stamp on the document?

Technically speaking you are unlikely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or qualified solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are located in Darlington

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Darlington where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Darlington conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have 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 at the same time as 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 purchaser.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Darlington - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

You should want to find out as much as possible regarding the managing agents as they will either make living at the property much easier or much more difficult. As the owner of a leasehold property you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day matters like the cleanliness of the communal areas. Enquire of other people if they are happy with their service. Finally, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and precisely what you get for your money. Who are the managing agents? What is the length of the lease?