Q & A  BUYING AND SELLING PROPERTY NEWCASTLE, ASK OUR EXPERTS!

This is the second part of our Q & A’s to buying and selling property, Newcastle. These are questions you may be thinking of when finding a conveyancing solicitor to help you with your property sale and purchase in Newcastle upon Tyne. Our lead conveyancing solicitor at Geoffrey Lurie Solicitors Newcastle considers some commonly asked questions and answers them:

Q. What will my Conveyancing Solicitor do during my Newcastle house purchase?

A. The first job will be to investigate title to your property in Newcastle. We will check that the Seller owns the property and can sell it to you. For example, if you are buying from a deceased’s estate, we will check that probate has been obtained and request a copy of the grant of probate. There may be other issues that crop up that need to be resolved before you can complete your purchase. A good conveyancing solicitor should alert you to any title issues at an early stage of the buying process. We at Geoffrey Lurie Solicitors Newcastle will ensure you are advised of any  potential problems as soon as they become apparent.

Q. What sort of things might they discover?

A. It is not uncommon for the property to be subject to  what are known as restrictive covenants, which prohibit it from being used for a particular purpose. Any restrictive covenants are usually common sense (eg you may only use the property as a dwelling house).  Your conveyancing solicitor in Newcastle should also let you know about any legal rights affecting the property such as rights of way.

Q. What other checks does your Conveyancing Solicitor Newcastle make?

A.  Your Solicitor will raise enquiries with the Seller’s Solicitor on a number of issues depending on what is contained in the initial paperwork. For example, if they think that the property should have legal rights over an adjoining property that may not appear on the title, or about information in the Property Information Form completed by the Seller.

Q. What searches will your Solicitor carry out?

A. A Local Search with the local authority, which may reveal financial charges such as a repayable improvement grant or matters that may restrict what you want to do with it such as if it is listed or affected by a Tree Preservation Order. A Water and Drainage Search checks whether the property is connected to mains water and sewerage or has any large mains running through it. Environmental Searches check if the land may have contamination in it from a past use or is likely to suffer from flooding. In Newcastle we alway submit a Mining Search which checks to see, for example, if there are any old adits or shafts near the property or if there have been any claims for subsidence in the past.

Q. I am buying with the help of a mortgage. Will my Solicitor be involved with that?

A. Yes your Solicitor will usually act for your lender too and will have to ensure that the property is good security for the loan. Sometimes your Solicitor will need to check that your lender is happy with things that have to be reported to them before matters can proceed.

Q. How can I help to make my purchase as stress free as possible?

A. Try not to set a completion date before your Solicitor tells you that everyone involved in your chain is ready to exchange contracts. Our best advice to reduce stress is to only agree a firm completion date once all the parties in the chain are ready to exchange contracts. Also, please take our advice!

If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to contact any of our members of the conveyancing team here at Geoffrey Lurie Solicitors

You can also complete our contact form here or if you want to call, please pick up the phone and call us on 0191 466 1444

Web site content note:

This is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.