My fiance and I are hoping to purchase a property in Pembroke Dock and are in fact using a Pembroke Dock conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. The Mortgage Works have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Pembroke Dock conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?

If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Pembroke Dock solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

I have justfound out that Action Conveyancing have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Pembroke Dock for a purchase of a freehold house 18 months ago. How can I establish that the property is registered correctly in the name of the previous owner?

The easiest method to check if the property is in your name, 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 Pembroke Dock conveyancing specialists.

I'm buying my first flat in Pembroke Dock with the aid of help to buy. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The property agent told me not to tell my lawyer about this deal as it could put at risk my loan with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.

I have been pointed in your direction by two or three local selling agents in Pembroke Dock to get a quote from a solicitor using your seach tool. What’s the financial incentive for Estate Agents to recommend your lawyers over and above another?

We don’t give any financial incentive for pointing buyers and sellers in our direction. We found it would be just too difficult a fee as members of the public would think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.

I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Pembroke Dock. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Pembroke Dock are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Pembroke Dock in which case you should be shopping around for a Pembroke Dock conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

I own a 1 bedroom flat in Pembroke Dock, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in Pembroke Dock with an extended lease are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2092

You have 68 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.