My wife and I are looking to acquire a home in Glynneath and have appointed a Glynneath conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Nottingham Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Glynneath solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Glynneath solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.

Please explain the implications if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the RBS Conveyancing panel ahead of completing my conveyancing in Glynneath?

The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have to instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by a regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.

I got the keys to my home on 12 July and my personal details is yet to be on the land registry website. Need I be worried? My conveyancing solicitor in Glynneath expressed confidence that it should be registered inside ten days. Are titles in Glynneath uniquely lengthy to register?

There is nothing unique when it comes to conveyancing in Glynneath registration formalities. Rather than based on location, timescales can vary according to the party submitting the application, whether it is in order and if the Land registry must send notices to any interested parties. At present roughly 80% of submission are fully addressed within two weeks but some can be subject to longer hold-ups. Historically registration is effected once the buyer is living at the premises therefore an expedited registration is not typically primary concern but where there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your solicitor must speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.

Am I right to be concerned that 3rd parties that I am dealing with are recommending an online conveyancing firm rather than a High Street Glynneath conveyancing company?

As is the case with lots of service providers, often suggestions from family and friends can be extremely useful or valuable. Nevertheless there are numerous parties with a vested interest in a conveyancing transaction; estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders might all suggest conveyancers to appoint. Sometimes these solicitors might be known to one of the organisations as being good in their field, but sometimes there might be a financial incentive behind the recommendation. You have the right to appoint your own conveyancer. Don't forget that most lenders specify a panel list of solicitors you have to use for the lender related work in your transaction.

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Glynneath 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a Glynneath conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will say if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Glynneath do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

Glynneath Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

This information is useful as a) areas could cause problems for the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs are not paid for b) if the tenants have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to have all the details How much is the service charge and ground rent on the property? Be sure to find out if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example it is reasonably common in Glynneath leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Glynneath. If you love the flatin Glynneath yet your cat can’t live with you then you will be faced hard decision.