My wife and I are due to complete buying a house in Cathays but as a result of wreckage from a small fire at the property I have managed to agree compensation from the owner in the sum of six thousand pounds in the form of a adjustment in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of amending the contract but Skipton are not allowing this. Should they have been informed?

Any solicitor being on a Skipton approved list is duty bound to inform Skipton of any variations to the purchase price. If you prohibit your lawyer to report the reduction to Skipton then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Skipton and you would have to appoint a new solicitor for your conveyancing in Cathays.

I am thinking of remortgaging my home in Cathays, does my lawyer have to be on the Nationwide Solicitor panel?

In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on the Nationwide conveyancing panel, but Nationwide would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same conveyancing matter.

We previously instructed conveyancing lawyers locally in Cathays on the Clydesdale solicitor panel. They are now charging me a separate sum for handling the Clydesdale mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Clydesdale?

Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your conveyancing practitioner may levy a fee for this. This fee is not set by Clydesdale but by your Cathays conveyancer. Plenty of firms on the Clydesdale panel will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with TSB. I assume I don't need a Cathays solicitor on the TSB panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.

If you have finished paying off your TSB mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the TSB mortgage from the register. TSB, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where TSB has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. TSB has instructed the Land Registry to do so

I can not fathom if my lender obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my Cathays bank branch on various occasions and was advised it wasn't an issue and they would lend. My Cathays conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- telephoned to say that they will not lend based on their published requirements. Who do I believe?

As long as the property lawyer is on the lender panel, they must comply with the CML Handbook requirements for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

I used Action Conveyancing a few years ago for my conveyancing in Cathays. Now, I need the documents but the law firm has closed. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Cathays of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. Cathays is the location of the property. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Cathays are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Cathays you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Cathays may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.