I am nearing exchange of contracts for my ground floor flat in Hengoed and the EA has just e-mailed to warn that the buyers are switching property lawyer. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only engage with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Hengoed ?

UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in recent years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for over 25 years.

Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to oversee. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

Are all Hengoed Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Santander conveyancing panel?

Some major banks and building societies now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.

My wife and I are at the point of looking at flats in Hengoed and I am about to put in an offer. Is it wise to have my conveyancing practitioner on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a mortgage with TSB.

You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their details on to the estate agent. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with TSB, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the TSB conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

Lloyds have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a house in Hengoed has been agreed to, what happens next?

Your property agent will want to be informed of your conveyancing practitioner's details (be sure the solicitors are on the lender’s panel). Telephone Lloyds or your financial adviser and finalise any relevant forms. Lloyds will appoint a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to schedule a time for the valuation to happen. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a week to receive the mortgage offer. Lloyds will send the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Hengoed.

Will commercial conveyancing searches disclose proposed roadworks that may impact a commercial premises in Hengoed?

Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Hengoed will carry out a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers spend in looking into accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Hengoed. The search result sets out definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Hengoed.

For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Hengoed it is crucial to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately could cause delays to Hengoed commercial conveyancing transactions as well as pose a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not carried out for domestic conveyancing in Hengoed.

I have recentlyfound out that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Hengoed for a purchase of a freehold house 12 months ago. How can I check that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?

The easiest way to check if the premises is registered to you, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Hengoed conveyancing specialists.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Hengoed. Conveyancing has not commenced, however I have recently received a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear the maintenance contribution as you normally would given that all rents and service charges should be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the subsequent invoice date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I acquired a ground floor flat in Hengoed, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable properties in Hengoed with an extended lease are worth £180,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2082

With just 58 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £21,900 and £25,200 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.