The conveyancer who dealt with my last purchase has sent a quote for £1350 for leasehold conveyancing in St Fagans. I’m hoping to sell a modern house for £125,000. Are these conveyancing fees excessive? Is it above what I should be paying for conveyancing in St Fagans?

The costs illustration is fractionally on the high side. If you shop around you may be able to reduce the fees marginally by as much as a hundred pounds. That being said, you maycome to rue choosing an an untested lawyer. Remember to be sure that the solicitor can represent your lender. Do make use of our comparison tool to locate a St Fagans conveyancing practice on the lender’s approved list of lawyers which can often include conveyancing solicitors in St Fagans.

Do I need to take out insurance to address the risk of chancel repairs when purchasing a residence in St Fagans?

Unless a prior acquisition of the property took place after 12 October 2013 you can take it that lawyers handling conveyancing in St Fagans to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

My cousin has suggested that I appoint his conveyancers in St Fagans. Do I take his recommendation?

No doubt the ideal way to select a conveyancing lawyer is to have referrals from friends or relatives who have actually experience in using the conveyancer you're considering.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in St Fagans with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Fagans can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? St Fagans leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance. Some St Fagans leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

I bought a basement flat in St Fagans, conveyancing having been completed 5 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding properties in St Fagans with over 90 years remaining are worth £227,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2097

With just 72 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 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 provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Builders have put forward a solicitor and I've sought an estimate from them. They are nearly £300 less expensive than my local St Fagans conveyancer. What's the catch?

Housebuilders frequently have lists of lawyers who are quick and who know the developer’s paperwork and conveyancing practitioner. As many developers offer an inducement to select a preferred conveyancing practitioner for this reason, any increased charges can be avoided and a developer won't put forward a conveyancing factory and run the risk of having the conveyancing delayed when they demand an exchange inside a month. A counter-argument for not opting for the recommended conveyancer is that they may prove reluctant to fight for your interests for fear of alienating the housebuilder. If you worry that this may be the case you should stick with your local St Fagans property lawyer.