We are intending to buy a 1 bedroom flat in Welshpool with a mortgage. We have a Welshpool solicitor, but the bank advise he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little option but to appoint one of the lender panel solicitors or continue with our Welshpool solicitor as well as pay for one of their panel lawyers to represent them. We regard this is inequitable; can we not insist that the bank use our Welshpool lawyer ?

Unfortunately,no. Your mortgage offer is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank’s conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your Welshpool conveyancing lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel.

IfI were to buy a straightforward housein Welshpool mortgage fee and dispense with a survey and no local authority searches how much could I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Welshpool?

The sole reduction in fees you would make on is the costs for searches. Your property lawyer is required to do the vast majority of work - money laundering, liaising with your sellers lawyer, SDLT return, register the ownership etc. You might save a bit for them not having to register a mortgage but it won't be significant.

Me and my brother have a 4 bedroom Victorian house in Welshpool. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Lloyds TSB Bank. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, the second leasehold under the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You need to assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Welshpool and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also question the position with your conveyancing lawyer who conducted the conveyancing.

Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Welshpool in advance of retaining lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold aspect to the house. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies may refuse to issue a loan on a flying freehold home.

It varies from the lender to lender. Santander has different instructions from Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can check with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Welshpool. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Welshpool to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Welshpool. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Welshpool - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Welshpool - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Where a Welshpool lease has fewer than 80 years it will affect the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your lender that they are content with remaining years on the lease. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Welshpoollease extensions you would need to own the property for 24 months in order to be eligible to extend the lease. How is the lease structured? What prohibitions are there in the Welshpool Lease?