I can't travel far from South Shields. Please spell out why all South Shields lawyers are not on all mortgage company panels?
Mortgage Companies tend to impose restrictions on either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such criteria being that the practice needs to have at least two partners. As well as restricting the nature of firm, some banks decided to restrict the size of their panel they use to represent them. It is worth noting that building societies have no liability for the standard of service provided by any South Shields solicitor on their panel. Property fraud was the key driver in the culling of solicitor panels from 2008 notwithstanding that there are differing thoughts about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics via HM Land Registry reveal that thousands of law organisations only carry out less than three conveyances annually. Those advocating conveyancing panel cuts question why law firms should have claim to remain on a lender panel when it is apparent that property law is not their primary expertise?
Can your site be used to locate a Conveyancing solicitor in South Shields even where I’m not purchasing or selling a house, for example where I intend to buy an office in South Shields with a mortgage from Chelsea Building Society?
Our comparison service is mainly utilised to find domestic conveyancing solicitors in South Shields but we have listed at the end of this page a selection of South Shields commercial conveyancing firms. You will need to make contact with the firm directly to establish if they are also authorised to represent Chelsea Building Society
What is your number one tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in South Shields
We would encourage you not to go for the lowest South Shields conveyancing quote. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of the deal.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as UBS, do South Shields conveyancing practitioners face a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their panel, although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
My wife and I have organised a further advance on our home loan from Leeds Building Society as we want to conduct a loft conversion to our property in South Shields. Do we need to appoint a nearby South Shields solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Leeds Building Society would not normally instruct a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Leeds Building Society list.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up as part of conveyancing in South Shields?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in South Shields. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
How does conveyancing in South Shields differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in South Shields come to us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is constructed. This is because new home sellers in South Shields usually purchase the real estate, 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 used to new build conveyancing in South Shields or who has acted in the same development.
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in South Shields where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local South Shields conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.
I bought a leasehold flat in South Shields, conveyancing was carried out July 2006. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar flats in South Shields with a long lease are worth £179,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2081
With just 57 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £26,600 and £30,800 as well as professional fees.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.