We are buying a apartment in Banbury. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we will need to put money into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our monies?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

My bid for a property was accepted at auction in Banbury. Conveyancing is needed. What happens now?

Having legally committed yourself to purchase you now have to hire the services of a conveyancing lawyer soon as you are faced with a tight a drop dead date to complete the purchase. An auction property should have a corresponding legal pack. This should include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. Where you are dealing with leasehold property the auction papers may contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation pertinent to leasehold premises. You must hand this to the lawyer working for you as soon as possible. You also need to ensure that you have funds in place to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

I had a mortgage agreed in principle with Skipton. Banbury conveyancing solicitors were selected. How long does it take for Skipton to forward the offer to the lawyer?

There is no definitive answer here. Have Skipton conducted the valuation? Have you informed Skipton as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Skipton conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

I am purchasing my first flat in Banbury with the aid of help to buy. The builders refused to move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The house builders rep told me not to tell my solicitor about this deal as it will affect my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.

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.

My husband and I are novice buyers - had an offer accepted, yet the selling agent told us that the owners will only issue a contract if we instruct their preferred solicitors as they want an ‘expedited deal’. We would rather use a family conveyancer accustomed to conveyancing in Banbury

It is improbable the vendors are driving this. If they want ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a serious buyer is not the way to achieve this. Bypass the agents and go straight to the owners and make the point that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you are unencumbered (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you will continue to appoint your own,trusted Banbury conveyancing solicitors - rather thanthose that will give the negotiator at the agency a introducer fee or hit his conveyancing figures set by senior management.

I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Banbury. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Banbury are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Banbury so you should seriously consider looking for a Banbury conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Banbury, conveyancing having been completed 7 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in Banbury with a long lease are worth £201,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease ends on 21st October 2089

With just 65 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

Midway through the sale of a leasehold flat in Banbury. Conveyancing lawyers are doing their job but we have been asked to pay a fortune by the freeholder. So far we have issued a cheque for £275 for a leasehold management information and then another £118 for responses to questions supplied by the purchaser's lawyer.

Your lawyer will unlikely have any impact over the extent of the fee for this information but the average costs for the information for Banbury leasehold premises is £395. For Banbury conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to cover the costs. The freeholder or their agents are not duty bound to answer such questions although many will agree to do so - albeit often at high prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Regretfully there is no statute that requires set fees for administrative tasks. Neither is there any statutory time limit by which they are obliged to provide answers.