My husband and I are buying a brand new duplex in Calcot and my lawyer is telling me that she is duty bound to the bank to disclose incentives from the developer. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange and I would rather not delay deal. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

Do conveyancers ask for an advanced payment for my conveyancing in Calcot?

If you are buying a property in Calcot your lawyer will request that you place them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. Generally this is requested to cover the fees of the Local Authority Search. When the deposit is payable against the sale price then this should be asked for shortly before contracts are exchanged. Any further balance that is due should be sent to your lawyer shortly before completion.

We are selling our house in Calcot and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. Any local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers instructed a national conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Calcot. Having lived in Calcot for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Should we contact our local Authority to obtain clarification need.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer already. What do they say? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same ailment)

Is it simple use the search facility to locate a conveyancing lawyer in Calcot on the panel for my mortgage?

First select a lender such as Yorkshire Building Society, Bank of Scotland or Platform Home Loans Ltd then type in your location for example Calcot. Conveyancing firms in Calcot and nationally will then be shown.

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Calcot. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Calcot - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I own a studio flat in Calcot, conveyancing having been completed in 1997. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Calcot with an extended lease are worth £176,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2104

With only 80 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.