My husband and I are looking to buy a house in Port Talbot and are in fact using a Port Talbot conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Barclays have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Port Talbot solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?

When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is normal for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Port Talbot lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

We are planning to acquire a house and need a conveyancing solicitor in Port Talbot who is on the TSB approved panel. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a conveyancing firm?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for TSB . We don't recommend any particular firms conducting conveyancing in Port Talbot.

I'm the sole recipient of my late mum's estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Port Talbot. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in April. I plan to dispose of the property. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship will be treated the same way as if I'd bought the property in April. Will no one buy the property for half a year?

The CML handbook obliges conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you may be caught by that. Most banks would take a sensible view as this obligation is primarily there to pick up on the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of properties.

After shopping around on the internet I have found a Port Talbot conveyancing practitioner having made sure that they are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Yorkshire BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Yorkshire BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Port Talbot surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

Virgin Money have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a property in Port Talbot has been agreed to, what are the next steps?

Your property agent will want to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the conveyancing practitioners are on the bank’s approved list). Telephone Virgin Money or the financial adviser and finish off any relevant forms. Virgin Money will appoint a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to book a slot for the valuation to happen. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes on average a fortnight for the mortgage offer to be issued. Virgin Money will send the offer to you and your lawyers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Port Talbot.

I'm converting the mortgage on my primary property to a buy to let mortgage with The Royal Bank of Scotland and I will use the ballance of the raised equity as a down payment on further house. The location we are interested in is Port Talbot. Will your conveyancers be able to act for the two banks and link together the two deals?

Do use our comparison tool on this page to ensure that the solicitors are approved by both mortgage companies. On the basis that they are the solicitor will be able to tie up the two conveyancing matters but you should have a chat with you conveyancer and communicate your desired outcome and requirements.

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Port Talbot. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Port Talbot - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title. For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Port Talbot Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

It would be wise to find out as much as possible regarding the company managing the block as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical matters such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Enquire of other tenants what they think of their service. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and precisely what it includes. What is the length of the lease? Can you inform me if there are any major works on the horizon that will add a premium to the maintenance charges?