Are the BSA planning on creating a search tool with a view to list law firms on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel for example in Adderbury?

Lexsure has not been advised of any intention on the part of the BSA to develop such a tool.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Adderbury with a loan from Halifax. The developers would not budge the amount so I negotiated £7000 of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent advised me not to tell my lawyer about the extras as it could adversely affect my mortgage with Halifax. 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.

Hoping to buy a property located in Adderbury and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Adderbury. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Adderbury area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Adderbury. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

We are four weeks into a residential purchase having been recommend to solicitors by the selling agent to execute conveyancing in Adderbury. I am not happy. Could you help me find new lawyers?

They would have to be very poor to suggest changing them. Has your loan offer been sent? If so you will need to advise them of the new contact details and have the offer are issued to the new lawyers. Your conveyancer needs to be on the lenders panel to avoid supplemental charges and complications. So that should be your starting point. The search tool will assist you in finding a lender approved lawyer for your conveyancing in Adderbury

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Adderbury both have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Adderbury is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Adderbury conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease. You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I bought a basement flat in Adderbury, conveyancing formalities finalised 8 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Adderbury with an extended lease are worth £202,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2083

With 57 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £28,500 and £33,000 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.