My husband and I are hoping to acquire a home in Shotley Bridge and are in fact using a Shotley Bridge conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Birmingham Midshires have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Shotley Bridge lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?

If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Shotley Bridge lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

Would the conveyancing lawyers identified via your search tool handle attended exchange conveyancing in Shotley Bridge?

There are a few conveyancing specialists who can conduct 24hr exchanges. You should contact us to get a conveyancing quote and details as to dates.

I am the registered owner of a freehold house in Shotley Bridge but nevertheless invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?

It’s unusual for properties in Shotley Bridge and has limited impact for conveyancing in Shotley Bridge but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.

Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back hundreds of years, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the establishment of fresh rentcharges from 1977 onwards.

Previous rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence in 2037 will be dispensed with completely.

4 months have elapsed following my purchase conveyancing in Shotley Bridge took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one close by in Shotley Bridge I like with a park and transport links nearby, however it only has 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Shotley Bridge for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a lease with such few years left?

If you need a home loan that many years will be an issue. Reduce the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.