I sincerely hope you can assist me. My Vale Of Glamorgan solicitor is advising me that he is legally obliged toapply for Vale Of Glamorgan conveyancing searches due to the fact thatthe firm are on the Lloydsconveyancing panel. Is this really necessary?

Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are obtaining a home loan with a mortgage company your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of your lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook specifications . Even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out Vale Of Glamorgan conveyancing searches.

Should lawyers request an advanced payment for my conveyancing in Vale Of Glamorgan?

Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Vale Of Glamorgan your solicitor will ask you to provide them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. If any deposit is as part of the sale price then this will be asked for shortly before contracts are exchanged. The closing balance that is needed should be transferred shortly before completion.

Yesterday I discovered that there is a flying freehold element on a property I put an offer in two weeks back in what was supposed to be a straight forward, chain free conveyancing. Vale Of Glamorgan is where the house is located. Can you shed any light on this issue?

Flying freeholds in Vale Of Glamorgan are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Vale Of Glamorgan you must be sure that your lawyer goes through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Vale Of Glamorgan may determine that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold premises.

Am I better off to choose a Vale Of Glamorgan conveyancing solicitor in close proximity to the house I am purchasing? We have a good friend who can deal with the legal work but his firm is located over three hundred miles drive away.

The benefit of a high street Vale Of Glamorgan conveyancing practice is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, hand in your identification documents and pester them if necessary. Having local Vale Of Glamorgan know how is a plus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and on the whole were impressed that should surpass using an unknown Vale Of Glamorgan conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being based in the area.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Vale Of Glamorgan with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Vale Of Glamorgan can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ solicitors.
You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Vale Of Glamorgan leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance. A minority of Vale Of Glamorgan leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Vale Of Glamorgan - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

Its a good idea to find out as much as you can regarding the company managing the building as they can either make your life much easier or uncomfortable. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues like the upkeep of the communal areas. You should not be shy to ask other people what they think of them. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the managing agents and precisely what it includes. The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the tenants have being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is frequently retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Where a Vale Of Glamorgan lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the property. It is worth checking with your bank that they are content with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out what this will be. For most Vale Of Glamorganlease extensions you will be required to have owned the property for a couple of years in order to be entitled to extend the lease.