My god-son is buying a newly built flat in Ceredigion with a home loan from Nationwide. His solicitor has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?

The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested. The developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it. The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Nationwide conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

Is it necessary to take out insurance to protect me from financial exposure to chancel repairs when purchasing a residence in Ceredigion?

Unless a prior acquisition of the house completed post 12 October 2013 you can take it that lawyers conducting conveyancing in Ceredigion to remain encouraging a chancel search and or chancel repair liability policy.

My father-in-law has encouraged me to appoint his conveyancers in Ceredigion. Should I use them?

There are no two ways about it it’s preferable to find a conveyancing practitioner is to get feedback from friends or relatives who have used the firm that you are considering.

There are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Ceredigion. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Ceredigion.

I inherited a 1st floor flat in Ceredigion, conveyancing formalities finalised December 2010. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Ceredigion with a long lease are worth £191,000. The ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2077

With only 53 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £27,600 and £31,800 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

Developers have suggested I use a property lawyer and I've sought a quote from them. It's almost three hundred pounds cheaper than my local Ceredigion property lawyer. What's the catch?

Housebuilders often have panels of property lawyers who are quick and who know the developer’s paperwork and solicitor. As many developers offer an inducement to use their approved conveyancing practitioner for this reason, any increased cost can be avoided and a developer will not put forward a conveyancing factory and run the risk of having the transaction delayed when they need an exchange within a tight deadline. A counter-argument for not opting for the suggested property lawyer is that they may be unwilling to fight for your interests for fear of alienating the sellers. Where you have concerns that this may be the case you should stick with your local Ceredigion conveyancing practitioner.