We are purchasing a 4 bedroom semi-detached house in Houghton Le Spring. We would like to an extension at the rear at the house.Will legal due diligence on the property involve enquiries to ascertain if these works are prohibited?

Your conveyancer will check the registered title as conveyancing in Houghton Le Spring will sometimes reveal restrictions in the title deeds which prohibit categories of works or necessitated the consent of a 3rd party. Some extensions call for local authority planning consent and approval under the building regulations. Some locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which often prevent or impact extensions. It would be prudent to check these things with a surveyor prior to committing yourself to a purchase.

My wife and I have arranged the release of further monies on our home loan from Co-operative as we intend to carry out a loft conversion to our home in Houghton Le Spring. Are we obliged to appoint a high street Houghton Le Spring solicitor on the Co-operative conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?

Co-operative don't usually appoint a member of their conveyancing panel to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Co-operative conveyancing panel.

I have paid off my mortgage with Lloyds. I assume I don't need a Houghton Le Spring solicitor on the Lloyds panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?

If you have finished paying off your Lloyds mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Lloyds mortgage from the register. Lloyds, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Lloyds has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Lloyds has instructed the Land Registry to do so

I am buying a property and the solicitor has identified Chancel Repair for which the house may be liable because it falls into the area of such a church. She has recommended insurance. Is this strictly required for conveyancing in Houghton Le Spring

Unless a previous acquisition of the house completed post 12 October 2013 you may take it that conveyancing practitioners carrying out conveyancing in Houghton Le Spring to continue to propose a a chancel search and or chancel repair liability insurance.

I am purchasing a new build house in Houghton Le Spring with a loan from Platform Home Loans Ltd. The developers would not move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep told me not inform my conveyancer about this extras as it will jeopardize my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Houghton Le Spring what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Houghton Le Spring is not unique. All leases are drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

A duty to insure the building

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Houghton Le Spring Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

The best form of lease arrangement is where the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants have control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently employed where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. It is important to be aware if window replacement or some other major work is due in the near future that will be shared amongst the leaseholders and will dramatically increase the the maintenance charges or result in a specific invoice. Many Houghton Le Spring leasehold flats will have a service bill for maintenance of the building invoiced by the landlord. Where you purchase the property you will have to pay this contribution, normally in instalments accross the year. This can be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common areas. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a significant figure, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive.

Is there an average legal costs for conveyancing in Houghton Le Spring?

The average fee last year for conveyancing in Houghton Le Spring was £1,395 not including SDLT and HM Land Registry charges.