We were just about to sign contracts for a freehold house in Pangbourne. We have hit a snag. Our loan offer with Nottingham Building Society runs out on 2/7/2024 but the sellers are suggesting a completion date of 4/7/2024. Can one extend the mortgage offer?

The best person to address this concern is your conveyancer who will determine if they should be discussing with the lender, seller’s representatives, selling agents or possibly all three given what has gone on in your transaction to date.

I am the registered owner of a freehold premises in Pangbourne but still charged rent, why is this and what is this?

It’s unusual for properties in Pangbourne and has limited impact for conveyancing in Pangbourne 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 creation of fresh rentcharges from 1977 onwards.

Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence after 2037 will be extinguished.

I am purchasing my first flat in Pangbourne benefiting from help to buy. The developers refused to move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The house builders rep suggested that I not disclose to my solicitor about the deal as it may jeopardize my loan with Birmingham Midshires. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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.

I am looking for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one near me in Pangbourne I like with a park and transport links nearby, the downside is that it only has 61 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Pangbourne suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?

If you require a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you may ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this.

My husband and I have recently had an offer agreed on a house and had meeting on Wednesday with the Post Office for the mortgage. They warned me that when it comes to choosing a conveyancer that if they are not on their approved panel of conveyancers then we will be subject to an a further fee of about two hundred pounds. This is is due to the fact that they would then have to select a conveyancer to act on their behalf as well as the one we select on our behalf and we will be on the hook for their fees. I have requested the Post Office to send me with a list so I can request quotes only from their approved lawyers but was told they dont have such a list to hand over. What would be the best way of going about this?

Ask the Post Office what their criteria for panel membership is for a solicitor.Then ask the conveyancer of your choice whether they meet the criteria and have they acted on loans for the Post Office before. Where the answer to those is yes, then just clarify this with the Post Office. Another option is to utilise our search tool and we should be able to identify a property lawyer in Pangbourne on the approved list for the Post Office.