My previous conveyancer has given a fee estimate £1400 for no move no fee conveyancing in Newbury. I am looking to sell a Victorian property for £275,000. This appears too much. Is it in excess of what I should be paying for conveyancing in Newbury?

The charges are a bit high. If you are content to invest time comparing prices you could decrease the fees marginally by perhaps £100 plus VAT. On the other hand, you couldcome to rue choosing an a cheaper solicitor. Don't forget to ensure the firm can act for your lender. You can employ our search tool to locate a Newbury conveyancing firm on the lender’s approved list of lawyers which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Newbury.

I am acquiring a house without a mortgage in Newbury. I have been residing for the previous 15 years in Newbury. Conveyancing searches are expensive. As I know the area and road intimately should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?

Provided that you do not need a mortgage, then the vast majority of the Newbury conveyancing searches are at your discretion. Your solicitor will 'advise', no-doubt strongly, that you should have searches done, but she is duty bound to do this. Do take into account; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it will be of interest to your prospective purchaser what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with apparent issues can still reveal unexpected search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Newbury should provide you some sensible advice here.

We hope to to purchase with Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. I called into a couple of local practices but am unable to find a Newbury conveyancing firm on the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society panel. Could you help?

You should take advantage of the search tool on this web page. Please choose the lender and type Newbury or your location and you will be presented with numerous solicitors offices in Newbury or nearest you.

We previously selected solicitors locally in Newbury on the Co-operative solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me a separate amount for dealing with the Co-operative mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Co-operative?

Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your conveyancer can levy a fee for this. The fee is not set by Co-operative but by your Newbury lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Co-operative panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but plenty of firms incorporate it on their overall fee.

My partner and I have organised the release of further funds on our home loan from Aldermore as we wish to conduct renovations to our house in Newbury. Are we obliged to appoint a bricks and mortar Newbury solicitor on the Aldermore conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?

Aldermore don't usually appoint firms on their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Aldermore list.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Newbury. I have a mortgage offer with Principality. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Principality, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Principality conveyancing panel.

I’m about to sell my basement flat in Newbury. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, however I have recently had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge as normal as all rents and service invoices should be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I own a leasehold flat in Newbury, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Newbury with over 90 years remaining are worth £202,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2081

With just 57 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £28,500 and £33,000 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.