Is the fact that my conveyancer in Charlbury is not on my mortgage company's solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of the firm’s conveyancing?

That would more than likely be a wrong assumption to make. There are plenty of reasonable 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) lack 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. Should you be concerned you should simply call the Charlbury conveyancing firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for your bank.

Our son-in-law is about to exchange on a newly built flat in Charlbury with a home loan from Barclays. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?

The form is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Barclays conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Barclays conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

I have been on the look out for a ground for flat up to £305k and found one round the corner in Charlbury I like with open areas and railway links nearby, the downside is that it only has 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Charlbury in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a home loan the shortness of the lease may be problematic. Discount the offer by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.

In my capacity as executor for the will of my father I am disposing of a residence in Swansea but reside in Charlbury. My solicitor (approximately 260 kilometers awayrequires that I execute a statutory declaration before the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Charlbury who can witness and place their company stamp on the document?

strictly speaking you should not need to have the documents attested by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or solicitor will suffice regardless of whether they are Charlbury based

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Charlbury where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Charlbury conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

I purchased a 1 bedroom flat in Charlbury, conveyancing having been completed in 2010. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Charlbury with over 90 years remaining are worth £190,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2088

With only 62 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £17,100 and £19,800 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.