My flat in Mortimer is up for sale and I have a buyer. Will the property lawyer have to be on the Co-operative conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Co-operative conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their specifications fairly frequently at the moment.

It has been four months following my purchase conveyancing in Mortimer took place. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the residence from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

I am looking into buying my first house which is in Mortimer and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Mortimer. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Mortimer area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Mortimer. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £250,000 garden flat in Mortimer next week. The management company has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Mortimer?

Mortimer conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often involves the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Mortimer, conveyancing having been completed 5 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Mortimer with a long lease are worth £191,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease expires on 21st October 2077

With only 53 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £27,600 and £31,800 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

I am an executor of my recently deceased aunt’s Will, with a bungalow in Mortimer which will be marketed. The property is unregistered at HMLR and I'm advised that many estate agents will insist that it is in place before they'll move forward. What's the mechanism for this?

In the situation that you have set out it seems advisable to seek 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.