My financial adviser has requested my Caerphilly lawyer’ panel member for the Nat West conveyancing panel. What is the best way to obtain this. I have e-mailed my local Caerphilly office but they have not got back to me yet.

The sensible thing to do is ask for this information from your Caerphilly conveyancer . They maintain a central record lender panel numbers.

Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in Caerphilly costs more?

In summary, leasehold conveyancing in Caerphilly and elsewhere usually warrants additional due diligence compared to freehold transactions. This includes lease investigation, liaising with the landlord concerning serving appropriate notices, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, procuring the freeholder’s consents and reviewing management accounts. The obligations on both the landlord and the tenant in the lease need to be studied by the buyer’s conveyancing team and read from beginning to end – regardless of the fact the lease has passed through many different property solicitors hands since it was first entered into.

We previously appointed conveyancing lawyers locally in Caerphilly on the Coventry BS solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me an additional sum for dealing with the Coventry BS mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Coventry BS?

As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your solicitor can charge a fee for this. The charge is not set by Coventry BS but by your Caerphilly lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Coventry BS panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.

The mortgage over my property is with Yorkshire BS for my property in Caerphilly. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Yorkshire BS?

Your original mortgage agreement with Yorkshire BS will provide that you need their approval prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Yorkshire BS’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Yorkshire BS directly. You need not do this via a Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel lawyer.

Aldermore have agreed my home loan in principle, my offer on a property in Caerphilly has been accepted, what happens next?

Your estate agent will need to be advised as to your conveyancer's details (be sure the property lawyers are on the bank’s panel). Call up Aldermore or your financial adviser and finalise any relevant forms. Aldermore will instruct a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or vendor to arrange a slot for the valuation to occur. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about ten days for the mortgage offer to be issued. Aldermore will send the offer to you and your conveyancers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Caerphilly.

I require fast conveyancing in Caerphilly as I have pressure to sign on the dotted line in less than one month. Thankfully I do not need a mortgage. Is it possible to avoid the conveyancing searches to save fees and time?

As you are not obtaining a home loan you are at free not to have searches carried out although no conveyancer would recommend that you don't. With lots of history conveyancing in Caerphilly the following are examples of what can be revealed and therefore affect the marketability of the property: Refused Planning Applications, Overdue Charges, Overdue Grants, Unadopted Roads,...

Frank (my husband) and I may need to sub-let our Caerphilly ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Caerphilly conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Caerphilly conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I invested in buying a leasehold flat in Caerphilly, conveyancing having been completed in 1997. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable flats in Caerphilly with a long lease are worth £221,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2092

You have 70 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £9,500 and £11,000 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 detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.