We are about to exchange contracts for a ground floor flat in Gowerton. We encountered a snag. Our loan offer with Lloyds TSB Bank runs out on 10/11/2025 but the owners are suggesting a completion date of 12/11/2025. Can one prolong the loan expiry date?

The person best placed to address this issue is your lawyer who will determine whether he or she is better off negotiating with the mortgage broker, vendor’s lawyers, property agents or possibly all parties given the circumstances your transaction to date.

I used Wolstenholmes a few years past for my conveyancing in Gowerton. Now, I need the files however cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Gowerton of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

Due to the advice of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Gowerton before retaining conveyancers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. The surveyor has said that some lenders will not grant a loan on such a premises.

It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can check via 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 Gowerton. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Gowerton to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

I work for a busy estate agency in Gowerton where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Gowerton conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

I acquired a studio flat in Gowerton, conveyancing was carried out 8 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Gowerton with a long lease are worth £202,000. The ground rent is £60 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2081

You have 56 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £29,500 and £34,000 as well as costs.

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 the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

We are in the process of acquiring a house in Gowerton. Conveyancing is not complete but we wish to have our transaction price a secret from the likes of Nestoria. what can I do to make sure this is not revealed?

HM Land Registry are legally obliged to note price paid information on a register of the title for residential properties nationwide which includes premises in Gowerton. The register of title is an open document, so HMLR would be breaching their statutory obligations excluded certain homes such as your property in Gowerton.

You can ask the Land Registry to withhold the price paid data but the answer will be in the negative.