I am not in a position to travel far from Caversham. What is the rationale as to why all Caversham conveyancing practitioners are not on all mortgage company panels?

Banks point to the fact that solicitor-led fraud is considered to be responsible for millions of pounds of fraud annually.The elimination of law firms off of lender panels started with the rise in mortgage fraud, which prompted a thematic review by the Financial Services Authority in 2011. Its outcome included recommendations for mortgage companies to review their conveyancing panels, which kicked off a major policy change in the sector. This resulted in lenders removing less reputable firms from their official list of approved lawyers .

I am helping my niece sell her flat in Caversham. Does the conveyancing solicitor commission the energy performance certificate or should I organise this?

After the abolition of Home Packs, energy assessments was retained a required part of selling a house. An energy assessment must be commissioned in advance of the property being placed on the market. This is not a task that law firms normally arrange. Where you are instructing a Caversham conveyancing lawyer they might be willing to arrange EPC’s given their relationships with long established Caversham assessors

My father advised me that in buying a property in Caversham there may be a number of restrictions preventing external alterations to a property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in Caversham which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to carry out external variations. Part of the conveyancing in Caversham should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

I have finally had an offer on a flat in Caversham accepted, the sellers do however have an associated purchase. The owners have put an offer on a property, however it’s not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other flats booked. I have selected a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Caversham. What do I do now? At what point should I apply for the mortgage with HSBC?

It is normal to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is in the region of £1k, then valuation, Caversham conveyancing search charges, etc). The first thing to do is check that your solicitor is on the HSBC conveyancing panel. As to the subsequent stages this very much dictated by the specifics of your case, desire for the property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market the majority of home buyers will apply for the mortgage with HSBC and pay for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.

I'm purchasing my first flat in Caversham with the aid of help to buy. The developers would not move on the amount so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The sale representative suggested that I not reveal to my solicitor about this side-deal as it may put at risk my loan with the lender. 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 flat up to £305k and identified one near me in Caversham I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 61 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Caversham for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease may be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for at least 2 years you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this.

I wish to let out my leasehold apartment in Caversham. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

The lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Caversham do not contain subletting altogether – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

Caversham Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

Is anyone aware of any major works in the near future that could increase the maintenance charges? Make sure you discover if the the lease includes any adverse restrictions in the lease. For instance it is reasonably common in Caversham leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Caversham. If you love the flatin Caversham however your cat can’t make the move with you then you will be faced hard decision. The best form of lease arrangement is where the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is frequently employed if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.