I have been told that property searches are the number one cause of hinderance in Mumbles house deals. Is this right?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published findings of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature amongst the most frequent causes of hindrances during the legal transfer of property. Local searches are unlikely to feature in any delay in conveyancing in Mumbles.

Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to my home are lost. The conveyancers who handled the conveyancing in Mumbles 10 years ago no longer exist. What do I do?

In today’s world there are copies made of almost everything, and your solicitor should know precisely where to locate all the relevant documentation so you can buy or dispose of your property without any difficulty. Where copies are not available, your conveyancer can put in place insurance or indemnities against future claims on your premises.

I decided to have a survey carried out on a house in Mumbles prior to appointing lawyers. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend not give a loan on a flying freehold premises.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different instructions from Halifax. If you call us we can check via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Mumbles. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Mumbles to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

Am I best advised to use a Mumbles conveyancing solicitor based in the area that I am hoping to buy? An old friend can perform the legal formalities however her office is over three hundred kilometers away.

The benefit of a high street Mumbles conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to execute documents, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local intelligence which is a bonus. However nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who used your friend and in the main were content that should trump using an unfamiliar Mumbles conveyancing lawyer just because they are local.

Back In 2002, I bought a leasehold house in Mumbles. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Mumbles who previously acted has now retired. Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Mumbles conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I own a 1st floor flat in Mumbles, conveyancing having been completed in 2012. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Mumbles with a long lease are worth £197,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2080

With only 55 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £31,400 and £36,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.