My wife and I are purchasing a property in Thame. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a solicitor? On the day of competition we have to deposit money into their account. What is the protection 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.

We are getting the release of further funds on our home loan from UBS as we intend to carry out improvements to our home in Thame. Do we need to select a local Thame solicitor on the UBS conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?

UBS would not normally appoint a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the UBS panel.

I had an offer accepted on a property in Thame on 20/3/2024, valuation was booked five days later, all came back fine. Property lawyer retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to UBS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the UBS conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?

A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for UBS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the UBS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I have justdiscovered that Stirling Law have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Thame for a purchase of a freehold house 9 months ago. How can I establish that the property is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest way to see if the premises is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Thame conveyancing specialists.

I'm purchasing a new build house in Thame with a mortgage from Barclays Direct. The sellers refused to reduce the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not disclose to my solicitor about the extras as it may impact my mortgage with the lender. 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.

We expect to complete the sale of our £325,000 maisonette in Thame in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Thame?

Thame conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not involves the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be content to assist. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Thame, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2000. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Thame with an extended lease are worth £181,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2074

You have 50 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

I have recently placed an offer on a leasehold flat in Thame and the estate agent that we are dealing with suggested his solicitor. She quoted nine hundred pounds plus VAT and 3rd party costs. Does this sound reasonable?

Don't just go on 1 quote. You should seek like-for-like quotes for your conveyancing in Thame. Then choose one that you are comfortable with and just as important, is on the approved list of the lender that you have applied for a mortgage from.