Me and my partner are buying a maisonette in Brecon Beacons. My property lawyer is not listed on the bank solicitor panel. Am I still permitted to retain my Brecon Beacons conveyancing solicitor even though they are excluded from the mortgage company panel?

Various options include

• Proceed with your chosen Brecon Beacons solicitor but your lender will no doubt instruct a property lawyer from their approved list. The net result is additional charges together with probable delay.
• Appoint a fresh conveyancer to act in the purchase, making sure they are on the lender conveyancing panel.
• Convince your lawyer to apply to join the bank panel

The sellers of the property we are hoping to buy are using a conveyancing solicitor in Brecon Beacons who has suggested a preliminary contract with a down payment 10k. Are such agreements sensible?

Exclusivity contracts are agreements binding a home owner and prospective acquirer granting the buyer the sole right to the sale of the premises for a limited period of time. For all intents and purposes, a lock out agreement is a contract stating that you should be issued with a contract at a later date being the main conveyancing contract. It tends to be used for buyer confidence though in some cases, the vendor may stand to benefit from such agreements as well. There are various pros and cons to having them but you should to check with your solicitor but note that it may end up incurring extra in conveyancing charges. For this these agreements are unusual in relation to conveyancing in Brecon Beacons.

I am selling my home in Brecon Beacons. Does my conveyancer have to be required to be on the Aldermore conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Aldermore 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 currently.

I am buying a detached bungalow in Brecon Beacons. Our aim is to carry out a loft conversion at the property.Will legal due diligence on the property involve investigations to determine if these works were previously refused?

Your solicitor will review the registered title as conveyancing in Brecon Beacons will occasionally reveal restrictions in the title documents which restrict certain changes or require the consent of another owner. Some additions call for local authority planning consent and approval in compliance with building regulations. Some areas are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or impact extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.

I currently have a mortgage with RBS for my property in Brecon Beacons. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform RBS?

RBS must be informed of your intention before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of RBS’s mortgage conditions. It may be that RBS will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact RBS directly. You need not do this via a RBS conveyancing panel solicitor.

I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in September 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, UBS are being pedantic. The Brecon Beacons solicitor who is on the UBS conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but UBS are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do UBS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that UBS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why UBS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Brecon Beacons. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, however I have just received a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the service charge as you normally would given that all rents and service charges will be allotted as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I invested in buying a leasehold flat in Brecon Beacons, conveyancing having been completed 5 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable properties in Brecon Beacons with over 90 years remaining are worth £222,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2095

With 70 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.