This question may be naive but I am unseasoned as FTB of a ground floor flat in Caerphilly. Do I collect the keys to the house on completion from my lawyer? If so, I will find a local conveyancing solicitor in Caerphilly?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Your solicitors will transfer the purchase money to the owner’s conveyancers, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be invited to pick up the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. Usually this occurs early afternoon.

The mortgage over my property is with Co-operative for my property in Caerphilly. Conveyancing has been completed a year 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 Co-operative?

Co-operative must be informed of your intention before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Co-operative’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent 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 Co-operative directly. You need not do this via a Co-operative conveyancing panel lawyer.

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

The property agent will need to be informed of your solicitor's details (make sure the conveyancers are on the lender’s approved list). Call up Santander or your broker and finish off any appropriate forms. Santander will sellect a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or owners to arrange a time for the valuation to take place. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a fortnight to get a mortgage offer. Santander will send the offer to you and your property lawyers. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Caerphilly.

I require expedited conveyancing in Caerphilly as I am under a deadline to exchange contracts in less than 2 weeks. Thankfully I do not need a mortgage. Can I decline from having conveyancing searches to save fees and time?

As you are not getting a home loan you are at free not to do searches although no solicitor would advise that you don't. With lots of history conveyancing in Caerphilly the following are instances of what can crop up and therefore impact the marketability of the property: Refused Planning Applications, Overdue Charges, Outstanding Grants, Railway Schemes,...

How does conveyancing in Caerphilly differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Caerphilly contact us having been asked by the seller to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is built. This is because new home sellers in Caerphilly usually buy 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 property lawyers 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 accustomed to new build conveyancing in Caerphilly or who has acted in the same development.

Taking into account that I will soon spend 450k on a garden flat in Caerphilly I would like to talk to a conveyancer concerning theconveyancing prior to instructing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

We could not agree more - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you speaking to the conveyancer who will be carrying out your property ownership legalities in Caerphilly.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is an important individual, not a file reference. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are calculated and presented to you for your conveyancing in Caerphilly should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.

We own a leasehold flat in Caerphilly. Conveyancing was finalised in 2009. I have heard that I mustn’t allow the lease length fall too low. Why is that a problem?

Caerphilly residential long term leases are for a fixed term - normally just under one hundred years when they started. However a significant flats in Caerphilly were constructed or converted 25 or more years ago and so such leases now have under eighty years unexpired. This may seem like plenty of time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage companies on the whole need leases to have a minimum of 75 years left to be mortgageable. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are nearing seventy five years. To increase your property value you should be considering whether or not to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. There are also strong financial reasons to doing so before the lease reaches even eighty years as when the lease is below 80 years the premium to be paid to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.