As someone clueless as to conveyancing in Gorseinon what’s your top tip you can give me for the ownership transfer in Gorseinon

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Gorseinon or throughout England and Wales is an adversarial process. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of room for friction between you and others involved in the legal transfer of property. E.g., the seller, property agent and on occasion the mortgage company. Choosing a law firm for your conveyancing in Gorseinon should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY person in the legal process whose responsibility is to protect your best interests and to keep you safe.

Sometimes a potential adversary will try and persuade you that it is in your interests to do things their way. For example, the selling agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your conveyancer is dragging his heels. Or your mortgage broker may tell you to do something that is contrary to your solicitors guidance. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the conveyancing process.

I happen to be the sole beneficiary of my late mum's will and I have everything in my name alone, including the house in Gorseinon. The Gorseinon property was put into my name in October. I plan to dispose of the property. I understand that there is a CML 6 month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship could be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the property in October. 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." By the strict wording you might be caught by that. Some mortgage companies would take a sensible view as this obligation primarily exists to identify the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of properties.

We previously chose conveyancers with offices in Gorseinon on the TSB solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a supplemental fee for the legal aspects of the TSB mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by TSB?

Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your conveyancer can levy a fee for this. The charge is not set by TSB but by your Gorseinon property lawyer. Some firms on the TSB panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but many firms include it on their overall fee.

I have a mortgage with Lloyds for my property in Gorseinon. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Lloyds?

Lloyds must be informed of your intention before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Lloyds’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Lloyds directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Lloyds conveyancing panel solicitor.

My wife and I purchased a 4 bedroom Georgian house in Gorseinon. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Barclays Direct. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, the second leasehold under the matching address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You should review 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 owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Gorseinon and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with purchasers. You can also enquire as to the situation with your conveyancing solicitor who conducted the purchase.

Am I better off to instruct a Gorseinon conveyancing lawyer in close proximity to the house I am hoping to buy? An old friend can perform the legal formalities but her office is 400kilometers away.

The benefit of a local Gorseinon conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to execute documents, hand in your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. Having local Gorseinon know how is a benefit. That being said it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust used your friend and they were happy that should trump using an unknown Gorseinon conveyancing lawyer just because they are round the corner.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £325,000 garden flat in Gorseinon next Friday. The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Gorseinon?

Gorseinon conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves fees being levied by landlords agents :

Completing pre-exchange questions Where consent is required before sale in Gorseinon Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Gorseinon leasehold property is £350. For Gorseinon conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply the information.

I purchased a 2 bed flat in Gorseinon, conveyancing having been completed March 1995. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Gorseinon with over 90 years remaining are worth £260,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2098

You have 74 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.