It is a dozen years since I purchased my house in Cardiff. Conveyancing solicitors have just been retained on the sale but I am unable to track down my title documents. Is this a major issue?
Don’t worry too much. Firstly the deeds may be kept by your mortgage company or they may be in the possession of the conveyancers who handled your purchase. Secondly in most cases the land will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to establish that you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers obtaining current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in Cardiff involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it is more tricky but is resolvable.
I am assisting my step-mother sell her flat in Cardiff. Does the conveyancing solicitor arrange an EPC or it is for the seller to see to?
Following the demise of HIPs, EPC’s remained a mandatory part of selling a house. An energy assessment should be to hand in advance of the property being advertised. It is not a task that lawyers normally arrange. If you are using a Cardiff conveyancing lawyer they might be willing to arrange EPC’s given their relationships with long established local energy assessors
We expect to receive a DIP from Principality this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Principality recommend any Cardiff solicitors on the Principality conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Cardiff solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Principality conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Principality through the process.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Cardiff. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £175. A couple of days later, the lawyer called me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Clydesdale panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Do I need to take out insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when acquiring a residence in Cardiff?
Unless a previous purchase of the premises took place after 12 October 2013 you can assume that solicitors handling conveyancing in Cardiff to remain recommending a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
five months have elapsed since my purchase conveyancing in Cardiff took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Cardiff in advance of appointing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. My surveyor has said that some mortgage companies may refuse to issue a mortgage on such a home.
It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions from Birmingham Midshires. If you contact us we can check via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Cardiff. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Cardiff to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.