AssumingI were to acquire a freehold homein Reading mortgage fee and have no survey and no conveyancing searches how much could I expect to to save on my conveyancing in Reading?

The only saving you would make on is the costs for searches. A solicitor still be obliged to do everything else - money laundering, liaising with the vendors conveyancing practitioner, stamp duty submission, register the property etc. A marginal saving might be made by not having to register a charge but it will not be a lot.

I am purchasing my first flat in Reading with a loan from Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. The builders would not reduce the amount so I negotiated £7000 of additionals instead. The property agent advised me not inform my lawyer about the deal as it may affect my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.

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.

Given that I will soon spend £400,000 on a garden flat in Reading I would like to talk to a conveyancer concerning theconveyancing before giving the go ahead to the firm. Can this be arranged?

This is something that we recommend - we would be delighted to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the solicitor who will be carrying out your conveyancing in Reading.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is an important individual, not a file number. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are quoted for residential conveyancing in Reading should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.

I am 3 weeks into a freehold purchase having been referred to solicitors by the selling agent to execute conveyancing in Reading. I am am extremely disappointed with the quality of service. Could you help me find new solicitors?

They would have to be very bad to suggest replacing them. Has the mortgage offer been sent? If so you need to inform them of the new lawyer and have the loan are re-sent. Your conveyancer needs to be on the banks approved list to avoid added fees and delays. That should be your starting point. Our search tool can assist you in finding a lender approved lawyer for your home move in Reading

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Reading where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Reading conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Reading - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Many Reading leasehold apartments will have a service charge for maintenance of the building invoiced by the freeholder. Should you acquire the property you will have to meet this amount, usually quarterly during the year. This could vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a large sum, say about £25-£75 but you need to check as occasionally it could be surprisingly expensive. The best form of lease arrangement is where the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants have being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.