The vendors of the home we are hoping to buy have instructed a conveyancing solicitor in Carmarthen who has suggested a lock out contract with a deposit 6,000. Are such agreements sensible?

Exclusivity contracts are agreements binding a property owner and prospective buyer granting the buyer the sole right to purchase the property for a set period of time. For all intents and purposes, an exclusivity agreement is a contract stating that you will have a contract at a later time being the contract for the actual sale. It is generally used for buyer protection though in many situations, the vendor may stand to benefit from such agreements as well. There are numerous pros and cons to having them but you should to check with your solicitor but note that it may end up incurring extra in conveyancing fees. For these reasons these agreements are not popular in relation to conveyancing in Carmarthen.

I just bought a house at auction in Carmarthen. Conveyancing is necessary. What are my next steps?

Having to in every practical sense signed on the dotted line you should instruct a conveyancing practitioner as a matter of urgency as you now have a fast approaching a fixed date to complete the conveyancing. Every auction property will have a bespoke auction pack. This will likely include most,if not all of the documents that your lawyer will need. If you have purchased leasehold premises the conveyancing pack may contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing documentation specific to leasehold premises. You need to pass this on to the solicitor working for you ASAP. Do make sure that you have funds in place to complete the transaction on the set completion date.

is it true that all Carmarthen solicitor firms on the Nationwide conveyancing panel are overseen by the SRA?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be governed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

My husband and I are spending time looking at houses in Carmarthen and I am now considering a potential offer. Should I already have a conveyancing practitioner appointed at this stage? I will be getting a home loan with Nottingham.

You should start requesting conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the EA. Given that you are taking out a mortgage with Nottingham, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Nottingham conveyancing panel.

We are selling our property in Carmarthen and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. Any high street Carmarthen lawyer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers used an internet conveyancing practice rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Carmarthen. We have lived in Carmarthen for 4 years we know of no issue. Do we contact our local Authority to get clarification that there is no issue.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You need to check with 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 ailment)

I purchased a semi-detached Victorian house in Carmarthen. Conveyancing lawyer represented me and Nationwide Building Society. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same property. Is it worth asking Nationwide Building Society to clarify?

You need to review the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Carmarthen and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with buyers. You can also check the position with the conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Carmarthen. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I bought a 2 bed flat in Carmarthen, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. 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? Corresponding properties in Carmarthen with an extended lease are worth £265,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2095

With just 76 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.