Me and my partner are soon to complete on the purchase of a property in Barry but as a result of damage from the recent storms I have was able negotiate recompense from the seller in the sum of £3k taking the form of a deduction in the price. I had intended this to be addressed as part of amending the contract however TSB are not allowing this. Should they have been notified?

Any lawyer that is on a TSB approved list is duty bound to advise TSB of any amendments to the sale price. If you were to refuse your solicitor to disclose the reduction to TSB then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, TSB and you would have to appoint a new lawyer for your conveyancing in Barry.

My bid for a property was accepted at auction in Barry. Conveyancing is necessary. What is next?

Now that you have for all intents and purposes signed on the dotted line you must find a conveyancing solicitor soon as you are faced with a tight a fixed date to complete the deal. Every auction property will ordinarily have a bespoke legal set of papers. This will include the copy title deeds, local authority and drainage searches. Where you are dealing with leasehold premises the legal pack may contain a copy of the lease, management information and a sellers leasehold information form and other conveyancing paperwork pertinent to leasehold premises. You need to pass this on to the lawyer working for you at the earliest opportunity. Do make sure that your finances are in place to complete on the on the contractual date .

I have been told by my conveyancer that lack of building regulations insurance is required on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Barry conveyancing?

The right level of lack of building regulations indemnity insurance depends on who your lender is. It would differ for example between Birmingham Midshires and Barnsley Building Society. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.

I am the single beneficiary of my late father’s will and I have everything in my name alone, including the my former home in Barry. The Barry property was put into my name in January. I want to move. I do know about the CML 6 month 'rule', which means that my property ownership will be treated the same way as though I had purchased the property in January. Will no one buy the property for half a year?

The CML handbook mandates 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 might be affected by that. How sensible a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the bank as this obligation is principally there to pick up on the purchase and immediately sell or the flipping of property.

I used Stirling Law a few years ago for my conveyancing in Barry. Now, I need my documents but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Barry of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously retained, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

How do I use your search facility to get a quote from a conveyancing practitioner in Barry on the approved list for my bank?

1st choose a mortgage company such as HSBC Bank, The Mortgage Works or Godiva Mortgages Ltd then specify your preferred area for instance Barry. Conveyancing firms in Barry and nationally will then be listed.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Barry where we see a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Barry conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

I invested in buying a garden flat in Barry, conveyancing having been completed in 1999. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Barry with over 90 years remaining are worth £216,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2094

With just 69 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.