I am progressing with the sale of my maisonette in Radyr and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are appointing a new solicitor. The excuse is that the bank will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading mortgage company only engage with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to choose for their conveyancing in Radyr ?

Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in recent years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.

Lenders attribute this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any impact on this.

What is the first thing I need to know regarding purchase conveyancing in Radyr?

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Radyr and elsewhere in Cardiff is an adversarial experience. In other words, when it comes to conveyancing there exists plenty of room for conflict between you and other parties involved in the transaction. For instance, the vendor, selling agent and sometimes a lender. Selecting a solicitor for your conveyancing in Radyr is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE person in the transaction whose interest is to act in your best interests and to protect you.

On occasion a third party with a vested interest will attempt to sway you that you should follow their advice. For instance, the property agent may claim to be helping by claiming that your lawyer is wrong. Or your financial adviser may tell you to do take action that is against your conveyancers advice. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties when it comes to the legal transfer of property.

Me and my partner are purchasing a apartment in Radyr. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we have to deposit funds into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our money?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

I am assisting my niece sell her property in Radyr. Will the solicitor commission an energy performance certificate or do I organise this?

After the demise of HIPs, energy performance certificates became a required element of moving house. An energy performance certificate must be to hand in advance of the property being put on the market. It is not a task that law firms normally arrange. Where you are using a Radyr conveyancing practitioner they may be able to arrange energy performance certificates due to their relationships with reputable Radyr energy assessors

My offer was accepted on an apartment in Radyr on 12/4/2023, valuation was booked five days later, received a clean bill of health. Solicitor retained, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Barclays and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Barclays to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Barclays conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I am looking for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Radyr I like with amenity areas and station in the vicinity, however it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Radyr in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a lease with such few years left?

Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this matter.

How do I use the search tool to get a costs illustration from a conveyancing solicitor in Radyr on the approved list for my mortgage?

Step one is to select a bank such as HSBC Bank, The Mortgage Works or Platform Home Loans Ltd then specify your location e.g. Radyr. Conveyancing practices in Radyr and further afield should be shown.