Is the fact that my conveyancer in Thatcham is not identified on my bank's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of his conveyancing?

It would be unwise to jump to that conclusion. There are plenty of plausible explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator revealed 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 5 reasons are as follows: (1) low volume of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. Where you are concerned you should contact the Thatcham conveyancing practice and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.

My husband and I intend to remortgage our flat in Thatcham with Principality. We have a son 18 who lives at home. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Principality conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his rights to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your Principality conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Principality. This is solely used to protect Principality if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Principality had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Thatcham?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Thatcham. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Thatcham basement flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Thatcham conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Thatcham conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet without prior permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

I inherited a basement flat in Thatcham, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Thatcham with over 90 years remaining are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2084

With only 59 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

How do I identify value for money conveyancing in Thatcham?

First ask your friends and family they would would seek assistance from. Option 2 is to use a search tool on the internet for conveyancing in Thatcham. Phone two or three from the list and ask them to email you their conveyancing fees and discuss your needs with the solicitor who will conduct your conveyancing before you commit. Option 3 is to make use of our search tool to help you find the right lawyers taking into account your unique requirements including location,speed, complexity and who the proposed lender is.Resist the temptation to appoint lowest cost conveyancing solicitors in Thatcham