My partner and I are looking to acquire a home in Llanfyrnach and have instructed a Llanfyrnach conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Accord Mortgages Ltd have this morning contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Llanfyrnach conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?

If you are buying a property needing a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your mortgage company 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 as you are at liberty to use your preferred Llanfyrnach lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

I am buying my first flat in Llanfyrnach with a mortgage from Leeds Building Society. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent advised me not disclose to my lawyer about this deal as it would put at risk my mortgage with the lender. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder 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 opted to have a survey completed on a property in Llanfyrnach before instructing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may not give a loan on such a premises.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Nationwide. If you contact us we can check with the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Llanfyrnach. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Llanfyrnach especially if they regularly deal with such properties in Llanfyrnach.

Am I right to be concerned that third parties that I am dealing with are encouraging me to use a nationwide conveyancing firm as opposed to a High Street Llanfyrnach conveyancing practice?

As with lots of professional services, often referrals from family and friends can be worth their weight in gold. Yet there are lots of players in a conveyancing deal; estate agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies might all put forward conveyancers to choose. On occasion the solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as one of the best in their field, but occasionally there behind the scenes financial incentive behind the recommendation. You are at liberty to choose your preferred lawyer. Don't forget that the majority of lenders operate an approved list of conveyancers you have to use for the mortgage aspect of your home move.

I own a leasehold house in Llanfyrnach. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Llanfyrnach who previously acted has now retired. Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Llanfyrnach conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I acquired a leasehold flat in Llanfyrnach, conveyancing having been completed February 1995. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Llanfyrnach with over 90 years remaining are worth £202,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2082

With only 57 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £28,500 and £33,000 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.