Long shot I suspect (not sure there are many NEers on here at all) but anyone have a solicitor in Newcastle / Tyneside they would recommend?
I have one rec from a work colleague but would be grateful for any others (or any to avoid)
We have found a place we want to buy 
Is there any reason they have to be local? Ours were based in Newark and we sold in London and bought in Cambridge.
Iâve used these people twice and theyâve been brilliant. Old school but do the job. North Shields based.
https://solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk/office/391836/brown-holliday-clements
Thatâs something I had not really thought about.
Because of the Scottish system youâre advised to use a local one because they can help you work out what to offer, but weâre looking at a guide price one, so⌠probably not?
Would you recommend yours?
Helps if theyâre not in New Jersey Iâd say, unless youâre getting Bruce Springsteen to do your local searches.
Would love this tbf
Sort me out the freehold on 10 Thunder Road pls Bruce
So after making us wait for 9 months, the solicitor/executor has decided, two weeks after the buyers have signed their part of the contract, that he wants to get the flat re-valued.
Context: my family donât speak to the other beneficiary, my cousin. I tried to talk to him at first to keep him up to date of everything but then he stopped returning calls, voicemails, email etc around July. I kept trying until about October then though fuck it, better crack on. The solicitorâs excuse is he thinks my cousin might sue on the grounds of the flat being more valuable than what weâre selling for. But when we got it valued, the offers we got were HALF that. I held out and eventually got an offer halfway between the asking price and the original offer. And, he didnât mention this fear until last week when the buyers had already signed.
Solicitor has also said that there likely wonât be any money left from my uncleâs estate once the sale is finished (around ÂŁ100k) after this for either myself or my cousin, or even to pay my mum back as he asked her to pay for all bills relating to my uncle for the past year (about ÂŁ5k)
Thereâs a lot more, like we have evidence of him lying and stuff. Iâm just at the complete end of my tether, feel totally powerless to do anything. Iâm so stressed man. I want it to be over and finished, whether I get anything or not 
I thought ours were good and responsive and spoke in clear English when we needed. Itâs a big firm I think so not sure everyone would be as on it as our lads, can send a more detailed contact if you fancy:
This sounds absolutely full of anguish and incredibly draining. Hope it can all be wrapped up without it or you falling to bits.
Was wondering the same myself a couple of months ago. We had differing advice, some said itâs best to deal with someone close by as it makes it a bit easier/quicker if you need to drop anything in to them or sign docs etc. However, some of the lads here recommended getting a solicitor in the area we were buying, as theyâd maybe be a little more sensitive to the eccentricities of the housing market there.
On which we have just had an offer accepted 
(Took a while cos they wanted a buyer lined up for my partnerâs flat here, which is fair enough)
Plain sailing from here on, right?
We have already been told that the freeholder may not allow pets.
That was a fun 30 minutes either way 
Youâre not renting - what kind of leasehold agreement says stuff about pets?
Leasehold agreements are about leasing the land that the property sits on, not what youâre allowed to do inside, surely?
Freeholders are also responsible for the external fabric of the building, which means that they get to put pretty much whatever they want in the terms of the agreement, and everyone else has to accommodate them.
Yeah, I was googling this and apparently itâs quite common for it to be written into the lease but a lot will have an application process. Classic England bullshit, basically.
When we visited there were a bunch of signs that said dogs werenât allowed there.
But sheâs an indoor cat and the property is 1st/2nd floors and I have no intention of changing that so we might just not tell them.
Are removal firms quite expensive? Just searching about now for a decent company. Weâre moving from a fairly small 2 bed flat and the only heavy things we own are a sofa and a sofa bed, which admittedly we need to get moved down from the second floor. Other than that itâs mainly just bags, boxes and a few flimsy ikea bits of furniture.
Agreed, best money we spent on our move was to have people move all of our stuff out/in
Youâll do your own move once (maybe twice) and then realise whatever it costs is less than the hassle of doing your own moving.
Yeah IIRC it cost us about ÂŁ700 which sounds like a lot, but compared to all the other bullshit moving bills is easily the best value.
[Plus I got to ride along in a massive lorry!]
Cheers. Anyvanâs site is much easier to use than the ones i had been looking at. ÂŁ280 quote, seems cheap as.