It is is a decade since I purchased my home in Ferndale. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been retained on the sale but I can't track down my title documents. Is this a problem?

Don’t worry too much. First the deeds may be kept by your mortgage company or they could be archived with the solicitor who oversaw your purchase. Secondly the chances are that the property will be registered at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing lawyers acquiring up to date copy of the land registers. Nearly all conveyancing in Ferndale involves registered property but in the unlikely event that your property is not registered it is more of a problem but is not insurmountable.

What is your number one tip for choosing a conveyancing solicitor in Ferndale

Do not opt for the lowest Ferndale conveyancing quote. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of time.

I happen to be the only beneficiary of my late father’s will and I have everything in my name now, including the my former home in Ferndale. The Ferndale property was put into my name in June. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a CML six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship may be regarded the same way as if I'd bought the property in June. Do I have to wait 6 months to sell?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook obliges solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you may be affected by that. Most banks would take a practical view as this requirement is chiefly there to identify subsales or the quick reselling of property.

We previously appointed solicitors locally in Ferndale on the Coventry BS solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a separate fee for dealing with the Coventry BS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Coventry BS?

As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your conveyancing practitioner is entitled to charge a fee for this. The charge is not set by Coventry BS but by your Ferndale property lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Coventry BS panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but plenty of practices incorporate it on their overall fee.

Should my conveyancer be asking questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in Ferndale.

Flooding is a growing risk for lawyers carrying out conveyancing in Ferndale. There are those who purchase a property in Ferndale, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.

Lawyers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous checks that can be undertaken by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which should figure out the risks in Ferndale. The standard information sent to a buyer’s lawyer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard inquiry of the owner to discover if the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that the residence has been flooded in past which is not notified by the owner, then a purchaser could issue a legal claim for losses as a result of such an incorrect answer. The buyer’s conveyancers should also order an enviro report. This will higlight whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations will need to be carried out.

I have been sourcing a conveyancing lawyer in Ferndale for my sale. Can I see a firm’s record with the legal regulator?

Anyone can find documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions arising from inquisitions from 2008 onwards. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For records about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors history, telephone 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. For callers outside the UK, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator sometimes recorded call for training reasons.

What can I do to determine who owns a property in Ferndale?

As long as the premises is registered with HM Land Registry, and you have sufficient specifics of the location of the property, you should be able to obtain details from the HMLR of the registered proprietor for a for less than a fiver.