The sellers of the house we are hoping to buy hired a conveyancing practitioner in Ceredigion who has recommended a exclusivity contract with a payment 6,000. Are such agreements sensible?

There are two primary concerns with executing a lock out agreement (sometimes termed a no-shop agreement) is that it takes away the focus from progressing with the conveyancing process, so in the absence of it needing little or no negotiation then it could transpire to be unhelpful. It is not promoted amongst Ceredigion conveyancing practitioners for this reason. A further negative is the extent of the remedies available - a jilted buyer is not likely to obtain injunctive relief to stop the owner completing the sale to a third party, so the only remedy open via the contract will be the recovery of wasted charges and, in limited situations, the extra payment of damages.

Please explain the implications if my solicitor is removed from the Nottingham Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Ceredigion?

First, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.

I decided to have a survey done on a house in Ceredigion before appointing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the property. The surveyor has said that some lenders tend refuse to give a mortgage on such a property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions from Nationwide. Should you wish to call us we can check via the relevant mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Ceredigion. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Ceredigion to see if the conveyancing costs will increase in light of this.

I have been sourcing a conveyancing lawyer in Ceredigion for my house move. Can I check a solicitor's record with the profession’s regulator?

You may search for presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations arising from investigations started on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For details Pre 2008, or to check a firm's record, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. For non-uk callers, dial +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may monitor telephone calls for training reasons.

Is planning permission needed to split a house into a couple of flats in Ceredigion? This has occurred to a property opposite to my house in Ceredigion and was ignorant of the conversion until it was finished.

Planning Permission yes. Building Regulations yes.