Having been suggested to visit your organisation we were about to appoint conveyancing solicitor in Whitchurch found on your site but have come across some other estimates on the internet look cheaper – how come?

One can find numerous conveyancing organisations marketing at first sight what seems to be the cheapest conveyancing in Whitchurch. We suggest that you give due consideration about how much you respect your own move to you are willing to be penny wise pound foolish concerning the standard of the conveyancing. Many of them accentuate a bargain quote to grab your attention but hide additional charges in the fine print..

My son is about to exchange on a newly built flat in Whitchurch with a mortgage from HSBC. His conveyancer 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 document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the HSBC conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when asked. 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 HSBC conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

I'm the only recipient of my late mum's estate and I have everything in my name alone, including the my former home in Whitchurch. The Whitchurch property was put into my name in June. I plan to dispose of the property. I do know about the CML 6 month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship may be regarded the same way as if I'd bought the property in June. Will no one buy the property for half a year?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook instructs conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you might be caught by that. How practical a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the bank as this provision is chiefly there to pick up on subsales or the flipping of property.

We previously selected solicitors locally in Whitchurch on the RBS solicitor approved list. They have just billed me a separate fee for dealing with the RBS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by RBS?

As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your conveyancing practitioner can levy a fee for this. The fee is not dictated by RBS but by your Whitchurch lawyer. Plenty of firms on the RBS panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but plenty of firms include it on their overall fee.

I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Whitchurch. My mortgage broker suggested a solicitor. I paid an on account payment of £175. Shortly after, the conveyancer contacted me to say that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I purchased a terraced Victorian property in Whitchurch. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and Bank of Ireland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Whitchurch and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also question the position with the conveyancing practitioner who completed the work.

We are midway through buying a house in Whitchurch. Conveyancing lawyer has told us the property is "Leasehold". Should this make a difference on the salability of the house?

Whitchurch conveyancing does not usually involve leasehold houses. The key factor here is the unexpired lease term and the ground rent. If it's 999 years with a peppercorn rent, it's virtually freehold, so it’s unlikely to affect the marketability too much.

At the other extreme, if it's, say, Sixty years it will have a adverse impact on the saleability, and probably wouldn't be mortgageable. The length of lease and ground rent will be stated in the lease which should be made available to your property lawyer.