Me and my partner are buying a house in Cathays. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we have to put our life savings into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our monies?

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 being told by my solicitor that absentee landlord insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the typical level of cover needed for conveyancing in Cathays?

The right level of absentee landlord indemnity insurance depends on who your lender is. It would differ for example between Santander and Bank of Scotland. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.

Is it the case that all Cathays conveyancing solicitors on the Principality conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Principality conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Some banks do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be governed by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

My partner and I are downsizing from our home in Cathays and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. A local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers are using a nationwide conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Cathays. We have lived in Cathays for 4 years we know of no issue. Should we contact our local Authority to get clarification need.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm already. What do they say? You must enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same illness)

I am purchasing my first flat in Cathays with a mortgage from Bank of Ireland. The builders refused to budge the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not reveal to my conveyancer about this extras as it may jeopardize my mortgage with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I own a leasehold flat in Cathays. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Cathays who previously acted has long since retired. Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Cathays conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Cathays Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Is there a share of the freehold? Be sure to investigate if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance it is fairly common in Cathays leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Cathays. If you love the flatin Cathays yet your dog is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced hard compromise. How much is the ground rent and service charge?

My husband and I are purchasing a three room maisonettein Cathays with a home loan from a bank. We have selected a conveyancer in Cathays yet our lender advise she’s not approved on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct one of the our lender panel firms or stay with our Cathays solicitor and incur the extra fees for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?

Unfortunately,no. The mortgage company home loan offered to you is subject to conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the bank's conveyancing panel. Until recently, most mortgage companies had open panels, including almost all conveyancing solicitors in Cathays : a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your lender.