As someone unfamiliar with the Cardiff conveyancing process what’s your top tip you can give me concerning the home moving process in Cardiff
You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Cardiff or throughout England and Wales is an adversarial experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists plenty of room for confrontation between you and others involved in the legal transfer of property. E.g., the vendor, selling agent and even potentially your mortgage company. Appointing a lawyer for your conveyancing in Cardiff is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONE person in the process whose responsibility is to protect your best interests and to keep you safe.
Every so often a third party with a vested interest may try and sway you that you should follow their advice. For instance, the estate agent may claim to be assisting by suggesting your conveyancer is wrong. Or your financial adviser may advise you to do something that is contrary to your lawyers guidance. You should always trust your lawyer above all other parties in the conveyancing process.
Is there a search tool that I can use to discover of the solicitor carrying out my conveyancing in Cardiff is on the lender’sapproved panel? I am looking to avoid the situation of having one lawyer for me and one for Halifax thus paying £192.00 in supplemental legal charges.
Feel free to make use of the find a conveyancing panel solicitor tool on this page. Please choose the lender and type ‘Cardiff’ or your location and you will see a number of lawyer located in Cardiff or by proximity to you.
A colleague pointed out to me me that in buying a property in Cardiff there may be a number of restrictions preventing external changes to the property. Is this right?
We are aware of a number of properties in Cardiff which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Cardiff should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
We were going to get a OIP from TSB this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do TSB recommend any Cardiff solicitors on the TSB conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint Cardiff solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the TSB conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and TSB through the process.
I was told three weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Co-operative. Is it usual for Co-operative to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Cardiff is approved on their conveyancing panel? Co-operative have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Co-operative to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Co-operative conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
How does conveyancing in Cardiff differ for new build properties?
Most buyers of new build property in Cardiff approach us having been asked by the developer to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the property is completed. This is because builders in Cardiff typically purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Cardiff or who has acted in the same development.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in last month in what should have been a simple, chain free conveyancing. Cardiff is where the house is located. Is there any advice you can impart?
Flying freeholds in Cardiff are not the norm but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Cardiff you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds very carefully. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Cardiff may decide 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.
We own a leasehold flat in Cardiff. Conveyancing was finished in 21012. I have been told that I should not allow the lease length get too short. Why is that a problem?
Cardiff leasehold properties are for a fixed term - normally 99 years when they commenced. However a significant flats in Cardiff were constructed or converted 35 or more years ago and so such leases now have fewer than eighty years remaining. This may seem like plenty of time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage companies generally require leases to have at least 75 years remaining to be mortgageable. Accordingly when you come to sell the property you will need a lease extension if you are nearing seventy five years. To optimize the marketability of your property you should be considering whether or not to extend your lease long before you come to sell it. You should note that there are advantages to taking action before the lease reaches even eighty years as when the lease falls below eighty years the premium you have to pay to extend starts to increase.