Me and my partner are acquiring a leasehold flat in Carmarthen. My Solicitor is not on the bank approved list. Can I still use my Carmarthen conveyancing solicitor even though they are excluded from the bank approved list?

You have a couple of options available to you here

• Complete the purchase with your chosen Carmarthen conveyancing practitioner but your lender will need to appoint a solicitor from their approved list. The net result is additional charges and potential frustration.
• Get a fresh solicitor to act in the purchase, obviously checking they are on the lender conveyancing panel.
• Convince your lawyer to do everything within their powers to get listed on the lender’s panel of solicitors

My partner and I intend to remortgage our maisonette in Carmarthen with Yorkshire BS. We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this document specific to the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this extinguish his rights to inherit the property?

On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Yorkshire BS. This is solely used to protect Yorkshire BS if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Yorkshire BS had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.

In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Carmarthen? What am I being asked for?

To satisfy the Money Laundering Regulations any Carmarthen conveyancing firm will require evidence of your identity in all conveyancing transactions. This is normally satisfied by provision of a passport and an original bank statement or utility bill showing your correct address.

Under Money Laundering Regulations, property lawyers are duty bound to check not simply the ID of conveyancing clients but also the source of fund that they receive in respect of any matter. An unwillingness to disclose this will lead to your lawyer ending their relationship with you, as clearly this will cause a conflict between the set Regulations and a refusal to disclose.

Your property lawyers will have an obligation to inform the relevant authorities should they consider that any monies received by them may contravene the Money Laundering Regulations.

How does conveyancing in Carmarthen differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Carmarthen come to us having been asked by the builder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the residence is finished. This is because builders in Carmarthen typically acquire the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct conveyancing solicitors as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Carmarthen or who has acted in the same development.

Our conveyancing in Carmarthen completes on Friday, yet the person I am purchasing from wants to vacate 24 hours later at PM. Can I agree to such a idea?

If you need a mortgage then your conveyancer will demand that you have vacant possession on Friday - the mortgage company will demand it.