Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to visit the offices of the solicitor to execute the legal charge? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Bampton so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.

As opposed to twenty years ago, most banks no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to hand over identification documents and there are still manifest benefits to using a locally based practitioner, in your situation a conveyancing solicitor in Bampton.

Me and my partner are buying a apartment in Bampton. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a conveyancer? On completion day we have to deposit our life savings into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our money?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Bampton. I have a mortgage agreed with Co-operative. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. 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 Co-operative, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Co-operative conveyancing panel.

I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Bampton. My financial adviser suggested a conveyancing practitioner. I paid an upfront payment of £200. A few days later, the property lawyer called me to say that they were not on the Nationwide 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 Nationwide 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.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Bampton. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Bampton

The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. The Vendor must covenant to keep unoccupied units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Please supply a car parking plan. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose?

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Bampton both have about fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Bampton. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Bampton, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Bampton with a long lease are worth £201,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2090

You have 65 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £13,300 and £15,400 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

I happen to be an executor of my recently deceased aunt’s Will, with a property in Bampton which is to be sold. The bungalow has never been registered at the Land Registry and I'm told that some EAs will insist that it is done before they'll move forward. What's the procedure for this?

In the situation that you have set out it seems sensible to apply to register in the names of the personal representative(s) as named in the probate and in their capacity as PRs. HMLR’s online guidance explains how to register for the first time and what is required re the deeds and forms. You would need to include and certified copy of the probate as well and complete the form FR1 to refer to the PRs as the applicant.