I am selling my home in Abertillery and the EA has just called to advise that the purchasers are changing their solicitor. The reason given is that the lender will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only deal with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Abertillery ?

Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 25 years.

Lending institutions attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise 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 impact on this.

Having sold my house in Abertillery last April but my buyer keeps calling daily complaining that their conveyancer is waiting to hear from myconveyancer. What are the post completion sale formalities now that I have sold?

Post completion of your house sale your solicitor should deliver the transfer deeds and all of the paperwork to the purchaser's solicitors. Depending on the transaction, your solicitor should also confirm that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been redeemed to the buyers lawyers. There is unlikely to be post completion formalities unique to conveyancing in Abertillery.

We just had an offer accepted to purchase with Coventry BS. I visited 3 or 4 high street companies but am unable to find a Abertillery conveyancing firm on the Coventry BS approved list. Please you help?

You should take advantage of the find a lender approved solicitor tool on this site. Pick the building society and type Abertillery or your preferred area and you will see numerous solicitors offices in Abertillery or nearest you.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one near me in Abertillery I like with open areas and station nearby, however it only has 52 years on the lease. There is not much else in Abertillery suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a lease with such few years left?

If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the current owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you can request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor concerning this matter.

I am using a search engine for the words cheap conveyancing in Abertillery it shows results of many solicitorsin the area. With so much choice what is the best way to find the suitable property lawyer for purchase transaction?

The ideal method of choosing the right conveyancer is through a personal referral, so seek the counsel of colleagues and those you trust who have bought a property in Abertillery or the reputable estate agent or financial adviser. Charges for conveyancing in Abertillery vary, so it's sensible to secure at least three quotes from different companies. Dont forget to clarify what costs in the quote includes.