I am selling my ground floor flat in Pontypool and the EA has just telephoned to advise that the buyers are changing their law firm. The reason given is that the lender will only work with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only deal with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Pontypool ?

Banks have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.

Mortgage companies point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been stiffened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that 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.

We are purchasing a newly built duplex in Pontypool and my lawyer is telling me that she has to the bank to reveal incentives from the builder. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to sign contracts and I would rather not prolong deal. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook specifications. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

three months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in Pontypool concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £170,000. 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 decided to have a survey carried out on a property in Pontypool before retaining lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. The surveyor has said that some mortgage companies will not issue a mortgage on a flying freehold house.

It varies from the lender to lender. HSBC has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can look into this further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Pontypool. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Pontypool to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Pontypool conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Pontypool conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Pontypool conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. The following questions could be helpful:

What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing? If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

Pontypool Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying

The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is frequently retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. What prohibitions are there in the Pontypool Lease? Does this lease have in excess of 80 years remaining?