I have given 8 weeks notice to my current landlord and must vacate my let out flat in Hungerford by the end of next month. Conveyancing on my purchase is progressing. How realistic is it to complete in six weeks as don't want to have to find short term accommodation?

It is unwise to serve notice for your letting unless exchange of contracts has taken place. If you have not already done so, notify to your lawyer and urge them to they apply pressure on the owners lawyers, try to get a realistic time scale from them that everyone will look to achieve

Me and my partner are purchasing a apartment in Hungerford. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we have to put funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our monies?

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.

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unexperienced as FTB of a garden flat in Hungerford. Do I pick up the keys to the premises on the completion date from my lawyer? If this is the case, I will instruct a local conveyancing solicitor in Hungerford?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will transfer the completion advance to the owner’s lawyers, and once they have received this, you will be invited to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. Usually this occurs early afternoon.

I had an offer accepted on a property in Hungerford on 24/9/2024, valuation was booked 3 days later, received a clean bill of health. Solicitor appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Yorkshire BS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Are Yorkshire BS entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Yorkshire BS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I have been told that property searches are the main cause of hinderance in Hungerford conveyancing transactions. Is there any truth in this?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not figure amongst the common causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Searches are unlikely to be the root cause of holding up conveyancing in Hungerford.

I am buying a new build house in Hungerford with a loan from Halifax. The sellers would not reduce the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not inform my lawyer about this deal as it will affect my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I opted to have a survey done on a property in Hungerford ahead of appointing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor advised that some banks will refuse to grant a mortgage on this type of home.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions from Nationwide. If you call us we can look into this further with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Hungerford. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Hungerford to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.