My wife and I are soon to complete buying a property in St Athan but as a consequence of wreckage from the recent storms I have managed to agree recompense from the seller in the sum of £3k taking the form of a reduction in the price. This was going to be addressed as part of a side agreement yet Nationwide will not agree to this. Why were they notified?

Any property lawyer that is on a Nationwide conveyancing panel is required to inform Nationwide of any changes to the purchase price. If you prohibit your conveyancer to report the reduction to Nationwide then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, Nationwide and you would have to appoint a new conveyancer for your conveyancing in St Athan.

When it comes to lenders such as HSBC, do St Athan lawyers incur a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?

We are not aware of any mortgage company fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Principality. St Athan conveyancing solicitors are chosen. How long does it take for Principality to issue the offer to the lawyer?

Some lenders take longer than others. Have Principality conducted the survey? Have you informed Principality as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Principality conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.

Our sealed bid on a house in St Athan has been agreed to, but there is a chain. The vendors have offered on a property, however it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other properties booked. I have chosen a nearby conveyancing solicitor in St Athan. What do I do now? When do I get the mortgage application with Aldermore going?

It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs too early (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, St Athan conveyancing search fees, etc). The first thing to do is ensure that your solicitor is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel. Concerning the next phase this very much dictated by the specifics of your case, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. In a rising market many buyers will apply for a home loan with Aldermore and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their conveyancing practitioner to proceed with searches.

Will my solicitor be making enquiries about flooding during the conveyancing in St Athan.

Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers carrying out conveyancing in St Athan. Plenty of people will purchase a house in St Athan, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or dispose of the premises. Steps can be carried out as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.

Lawyers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous checks that may be undertaken by the purchaser or by their conveyancers which will figure out the risks in St Athan. The standard property information forms given to a buyer’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) incorporates a standard question of the vendor to discover whether the premises has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the vendor, then a buyer may bring a claim for damages as a result of such an misleading reply. A buyer’s conveyancers will also order an environmental search. This should higlight if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations will need to be made.

My wife and I purchased a semi-detached Georgian house in St Athan. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and The Royal Bank of Scotland. I did a free Land Registry search last week and there are a couple of entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in St Athan and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they mortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also check the situation with the conveyancing practitioner who completed the work.

In my capacity as executor for the estate of my uncle I am disposing of a residence in Swansea but I am based in St Athan. My conveyancer (who is 260 miles awayneeds me to sign a stat dec ahead of completion. Could you suggest a conveyancing practitioner in St Athan who can attest this legal document for me?

Technically speaking you should not need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are located in St Athan