I am acquiring a house without a mortgage in Mid Wales. I have lived for the previous dozen years in Mid Wales. Conveyancing searches are a lot of money. As I have knowledge of the area and road intimately should I not bother getting the solicitor to do all the conveyancing searches?

If you not getting a home loan, then almost all of the Mid Wales conveyancing searches are at your discretion. Your solicitor will try and sway you, perhaps strongly, that you should have searches completed, but he is duty bound to do this. One thing to take into account; if you are going to dispose of the house one day, it will be of importance to your future purchaser what the searches contain. On occasion properties with day to day issues can still reveal adverse search results. A good conveyancing solicitor in Mid Wales should provide you some practical advice in this regard.

My father advised me that in purchasing a property in Mid Wales there could be various restrictions limiting what one can do in terms of external alterations to a property. Is this right?

We are aware of anumerous of properties in Mid Wales which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Mid Wales should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

My wife and I have arranged a further advance on our mortgage from Nottingham as we intend to conduct renovations to our property in Mid Wales. Do we need to appoint a nearby Mid Wales solicitor on the Nottingham conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?

Nottingham would not normally appoint firms on their conveyancing panel to handle the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Nottingham list.

Kent Reliance have agreed my mortgage in principle, my bid on a apartment in Mid Wales has been agreed to, what happens next?

The property agent will wish to be advised as to your solicitor's details (ensure that the solicitors are on the bank’s panel). Contact Kent Reliance or the broker and complete any outstanding paperwork. Kent Reliance will instruct a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to arrange a time for the valuation to occur. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes on average a fortnight for the mortgage offer to be issued. Kent Reliance will issue the offer to you and your conveyancers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Mid Wales.

I have been told that property searches are the main cause of obstruction in Mid Wales house deals. Is that correct?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the conclusions of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the most frequent causes of delays in the conveyancing process. Local searches are not likely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Mid Wales.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Mid Wales?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Mid Wales. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Mid Wales. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I acquired a garden flat in Mid Wales, conveyancing having been completed July 1997. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Mid Wales with a long lease are worth £216,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2092

With 68 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above 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. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.