My fiance and I are purchasing a newbuild flat in Maesteg with a homeloan from Britannia.We would like to retain our Maesteg conveyancing solicitor but Britannia informed us she’s not on their approved list of member firms. It seems we have no choice but to instruct a Britannia panel solicitor or retain our preferred solicitor and fork out for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The loan offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, a common one being that solicitors must be on the Britannia conveyancing panel. in the past, most mortgage companies had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could find one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Britannia

Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with UBS. Maesteg conveyancing practitioners are instructed. What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from UBS?

Some lenders take longer than others. Have UBS done the valuation? Have you advised UBS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the UBS conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Maesteg. My mortgage broker suggested a solicitor. I paid an upfront payment of £150. Not long after, the conveyancer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Coventry BS panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in January 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Nationwide are being problematic. The Maesteg solicitor who is on the Nationwide conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Nationwide are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Nationwide have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?

It is probably the case that Nationwide have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Nationwide 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.

My colleague suggested that if I am purchasing in Maesteg I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

A search of this type is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Maesteg conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out significant information about Maesteg around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime statistics, Maesteg Education with maps and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Maesteg.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I have offered on two weeks back in what should have been a quick, no chain conveyancing. Maesteg is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Maesteg are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Maesteg you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds very carefully. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Maesteg may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Maesteg what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Maesteg is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

A duty to insure the building A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Skipton Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Maesteg - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

Are there any major works anticipated that could increase the service charges? Many Maesteg leasehold flats will incur a service bill for maintenance of the block set by the freeholder. Where you buy the flat you will have to pay this amount, normally quarterly accross the year. This may be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a significant sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check it because on occasion it can be prohibitively expensive. Please note if it is no more than eighty years it will impact the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for two years in order to be legally able to extend the lease.