My wife and I are soon to exchange on the purchase of a house in Cardiff Bay but as a result of wreckage from a small fire at the property I have managed to agree compensation from the vendor in the sum of £2k in the form of a deduction in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process but RBS are not allowing this. Why were they informed?

Any lawyer being on a RBS approved list is duty bound to inform RBS of any changes to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your conveyancing practitioner to disclose the reduction to RBS then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, RBS and you would have to appoint a new lawyer for your conveyancing in Cardiff Bay.

We wanted to use a property lawyer in Cardiff Bay for our home move. Our financial adviser has since advised us that our mortgage company Britannia won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unduly restrictive?

A decade ago most banks had an appetite for risk which was higher than today. Almost all Cardiff Bay conveyancing firms would have been on most mortgage company panels. The FSA in 2010 completed a thematic investigation into mortgage fraud which concluded: know the conveyancing solicitors dealt with. Consequently, lenders are increasingly seeing more information from law firms concerning their operations and the individuals who work for them and set certain criteria such a completing on a minimum amount of transactions. Many Cardiff Bay conveyancing firms that have been excluded from lender panels have a 100% healthy track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Cardiff Bay is amongst the hundreds of areas where the lawyers we list are members of the panel for Britannia.

I am intent on selling our home in Cardiff Bay and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. Any local conveyancer would know this is not the case. It does beg the question why the buyers are using a nationwide conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Cardiff Bay. Having lived in Cardiff Bay for 4 years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to get in touch with our local Authority to obtain confirmation that there is no issue.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer currently acting for you. What do they say? You should enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)

Helen (my wife) and I may need to let out our Cardiff Bay 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Cardiff Bay conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

The lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Cardiff Bay do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the property. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

Cardiff Bay Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

It would be wise to find out as much as you can regarding the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day issues such as the cleanliness of the communal areas. Enquire of other tenants what they think of their service. In conclusion, find out the dates that the service fees are due to the relevant party and specifically how they are spending that money. Does the lease include onerous restrictions? Generally speaking the cost for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Cardiff Bay obliged leasehold owners to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for larger works.

A licensed conveyancer handled my conveyancing in Cardiff Bay half a dozen years ago having archived my deeds but has since been shut down – What steps do I now take to get hold of them?

Deeds, as such, are no longer appropriate for the majority of properties in Cardiff Bay are archived digitally at Land Registry. If you need to prove ownership or are selling or re-mortgaging your solicitor will need to obtain up to date copies of the register from the Land Registry in any case.

If you feel there may be other documents or you have any other queries please e-mail your request with details of the transaction and documents you need to filerequest@clc-uk.org. The CLC will let you know what information they have and any additional information they may need before they are in a position to identify and send the documents to you. Following an intervention it may take some time for the CLC to access archived files and documents, but your request will be actioned with reasonable haste.