AssumingI was to buy a freehold propertyin Newport for cash and dispense with a survey and no local authority searches how much should I expect to have to pay for conveyancing in Newport?

Any savings you would make would be limited to the Newport conveyancing searches. Your property lawyer still be obliged to do everything else - money laundering, liaising with the vendors conveyancing practitioner, stamp duty submission, register the property etc. You might save a bit for them not needing to register a charge but it will not be significant.

When can the exchange of contracts occur in domestic conveyancing in Newport and do I need to be at the solicitors branch?

If you are in close proximity to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Newport you are welcome to attend to sign contracts. However, the lender approved solicitors we recommend offer countrywide coverage for conveyancing and give as equally diligent and professional a job for you when communicating with you by post or email. The executing of the contract is not when everything is set in stone. A signed contract simply enables the conveyancer to address the formalities at the suitable time, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The exchange process is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where a lengthy "chain" is in the mix, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Newport)to be in the office available at the end of the phone to exchange contracts.

Are the BSA intent on creating a online directory to to identify practices on the Loughborough BS conveyancing panel for instance in Newport?

We are not aware of any intention on the part of the BSA to develop such a register.

I'm the only recipient of my late father’s estate and I have everything in my name alone, including the house in Newport. The Newport property was put into my name in June. I plan to dispose of the house. I do know about the CML six month 'rule', meaning my proprietorship will be treated the same way as though I had purchased the property in June. Do I have to wait 6 months to sell?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook obliges conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you might be impacted by that. How sensible a view banks take of it, depend on the bank as this requirement is principally there to pick up on the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of property.

When it comes to mortgage companies such as Nottingham, do Newport solicitors face an annual charge to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are unaware of any mortgage company fees to be on their panel, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

We previously instructed conveyancing lawyers based in Newport on the Clydesdale solicitor approved list. They have just billed me an additional amount for handling the Clydesdale mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Clydesdale?

As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitor is entitled to charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by Clydesdale but by your Newport solicitor. Plenty of firms on the Clydesdale panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.

Completion is due on the disposal of our £275,000 garden flat in Newport next week. The managing agents has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Newport?

For most leasehold sales in Newport conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

Answering conveyancing due diligence questions Where consent is required before sale in Newport Copies of the building insurance and schedule Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Newport leasehold premises is £350. For Newport conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide answers.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Newport, conveyancing was carried out October 1998. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Newport with a long lease are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2085

With only 61 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £18,100 and £20,800 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.