I am selling my house in St Mellons and the estate agent has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are appointing a new conveyancer. The reason given is that the lender will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a leading mortgage company only work with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in St Mellons ?

Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms they are content to work with, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.

Lending institutions attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.

We are acquiring a brand new duplex in St Mellons and my lawyer is telling me that she is duty bound to the mortgage company to disclose incentives from the seller. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange contracts and I don't want to prolong matters. is my lawyer playing by the book?

You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your property lawyer. A precondition to being on a bank panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

I purchased a 4 bedroom Georgian property in St Mellons. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Skipton Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the matching address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in St Mellons and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the position with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £245,000 and found one close by in St Mellons I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 52 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in St Mellons for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?

If you need a home loan the remaining unexpired lease term may be an issue. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you may ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.

I am looking to sell my property. My former lawyers have shut. It would be helpful to have a recommendation of a conveyancing firm. I happen to live in St Mellons if that makes a difference.

Please use our search tool to help you choose a solicitor for your conveyancing in St Mellons. We have connected thousands of home buyers and sellers with regulated solicitors to ensure that the legalities of their house move runs smoothly.