My stepmother advised me that in buying a property in Aberaeron there may be various restrictions as to what one can do in terms of external changes to a property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in Aberaeron which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to perform external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Aberaeron should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

I happen to be the single beneficiary of my late father’s will with all property in now in my sole name, including the my former home in Aberaeron. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in December. I want to move. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders six month 'rule', meaning my property ownership may be treated the same way as if I'd bought the property in December. Is the property unsalable for six months?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook instructs solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you might be affected by that. Some lenders would take a practical view as this clause is principally there to capture the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of property.

We are getting the release of further funds on our home loan from HSBC as we intend to conduct renovations to our home in Aberaeron. Do we need to select a bricks and mortar Aberaeron solicitor on the HSBC conveyancing panel to handle the paperwork?

HSBC would not normally require firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the HSBC panel.

Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Aberaeron prior to instructing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies will refuse to grant a mortgage on a flying freehold property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Nationwide. If you contact us we can look into this further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Aberaeron. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

I have been recommended by a few property agents in Aberaeron to locate a conveyancer using your seach tool. What’s the financial advantage for Estate Agents to market your lawyers over alternative conveyancing organisations?

We refuse to make any referral fee for sending work to this site. We found it would be just too difficult a fee because a client could think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Aberaeron what are the most common lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Aberaeron. Most leases are drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building

You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Aberaeron Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

What restrictions exist in the Aberaeron Lease? This question is helpful as a) areas may cause problems for the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have all the details It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other significant cost is anticipated to be shared by the tenants and will materially impact the level of the service fees or necessitate a specific payment.

Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the mortgage company conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the mortgage company approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?

Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the lender conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the lender solicitor panel.