The Shildon conveyancing firm that I appointed last week on my purchase in Shildon have without warning shut down. They were on acting for me because I needed a lawyer on the Nottingham conveyancing panel and my preferred Shildon lawyer was not. I wrote them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What are my options?

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Nottingham conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to assist.

The deeds to our property are lost. The lawyers who did the conveyancing in Shildon 5 years ago no longer exist. What do I do?

In today’s world there are copies made of almost everything, and your solicitor should know precisely where to find all the suitable paperwork so you may buy or dispose of your house without any difficulty. Where duplicates can’t be found, your solicitor may be able to put in place insurance or indemnities protecting you against future claims on your property.

How does conveyancing in Shildon differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build premises in Shildon contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is constructed. This is because developers in Shildon typically acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Shildon or who has acted in the same development.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years left on my lease in Shildon. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Shildon.

Shildon Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

How is the lease structured? Be sure to discover if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Shildon. If you like the propertyin Shildon yet your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced difficult choice. Where a Shildon lease has less than 80 years it will impact the value of the property. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the property for two years in order to be legally able to exercise a lease extension.

Been searching for a conveyancer for freehold sale conveyancing in Shildon. We are selling, simple no mortgage to discharge, no rush, currently empty. Received a quote from a property lawyer for £800 plus VAT which is a tad steep considering its so straightforward. Can I pay less for conveyancing in Shildon?

Considering it’s a sale only, £450 + VAT is likely to be about the cheapest for sale conveyancing in Shildon.