I am nearing exchange of contracts for my home in Morriston and the estate agent has just e-mailed to warn that the purchasers are swapping property lawyer. The excuse is that the lender will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a big named lender only work with specific lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Morriston ?

UK lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, but in recent years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for decades.

Lending institutions justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms 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 not going to have any impact on this.

Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Morriston costs more?

The conveyancing fees on a leasehold premises in Morriston is inevitably higher than on a freehold acquisition or disposal. This is due to the extra work necessary in communicating with the freeholder and managing agents to obtain information about whether the rent and service fee have been paid and whether there are any significant expenditure in the near future on repairs or maintenance of the building.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one near me in Morriston I like with a park and railway links nearby, however it's only got 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Morriston suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a lease with such few years left?

If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Morriston. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Morriston.

I own a 1st floor flat in Morriston, conveyancing formalities finalised 5 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Morriston with over 90 years remaining are worth £195,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2088

With only 63 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £16,200 and £18,600 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

I happen to be an executor of my recently deceased mother’s Will, with a property in Morriston which will be marketed. The property is unregistered at the Land Registry and I'm told that some EAs will insist that it is in place before they'll move forward. What's the mechanism for this?

In the circumstances you refer to 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.