As I am unsure how the conveyancing process works what is the most important advice you can give me concerning purchase conveyancing in Darlington?

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Darlington and elsewhere in England and Wales is an adversarial experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of opportunity for conflict between you and other parties involved in the transaction. For instance, the seller, property agent and even potentially your mortgage company. Appointing a lawyer for your conveyancing in Darlington is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE person in the process whose role it is to protect your legal interests and to protect you.

We are witnessing a definite increase of a "blame" culture- someone must be blamed for the process taking so long. We recommend that you must always trust your conveyancer above the other parties when it comes to the legal assignment of property.

My mortgage company has recommended a law firm on their panel based in Darlington but I would rather use a conveyancing lawyer in Darlington local to me. Can you assist?

Not all Darlington conveyancing practitioners are on all banks conveyancing panel. Do make the most of the above search tool to find a Darlington conveyancing solicitor on the on the mortgage company panel.

My wife and I are purchasing a property in Darlington. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we have to send money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?

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.

Do I choose a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in Darlington?

There are many recorded licenced Conveyancers in Darlington and Solicitor partnerships in Darlington offering conveyancing We would stress that both are regulated professionals specialising in the legal work in the home buying process. The two can deal with associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.

After shopping around on the internet I have found a Darlington property lawyer having checked that they are on the UBS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

UBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually UBS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your conveyancer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Darlington postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with UBS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Darlington.

I purchased a renovated Edwardian house in Darlington. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Birmingham Midshires. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same property. 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 proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Darlington and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy 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 lawyer who conducted the work.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on last month in what should have been a straight forward, no chain conveyancing. Darlington is where the house is located. Can you offer any opinion?

Flying freeholds in Darlington are rare but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Darlington you must be sure that your lawyer goes 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 Darlington may determine 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 residence.