We expect to receive a DIP from Virgin Money this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Virgin Money recommend any Cardiff solicitors on the Virgin Money 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 Virgin Money conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Virgin Money through the process.

I recently had an offer agreed on a house in Cardiff. My mortgage broker suggested a conveyancing practitioner. I paid an upfront payment of £200. Not long after, the solicitor contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Barclays panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

Virgin Money have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a property in Cardiff has been accepted, now what?

The estate agent will wish to be advised as to your conveyancer's details (make sure the lawyers are on the bank’s approved list). Contact Virgin Money or the financial adviser and complete any appropriate paperwork. Virgin Money will appoint a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or seller to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes approximately ten days to receive the mortgage offer. Virgin Money will send the offer to you and your property lawyers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Cardiff.

My relative suggested that where I am buying in Cardiff I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Cardiff conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Cardiff around the property and the people living there. It incorporates an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Cardiff Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Cardiff Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information about Cardiff.

Taking into account that I will soon spend £400,000 on a garden flat in Cardiff I wish to have a conversation with the conveyancer about myconveyancing before appointing the firm. Is this something that you can arrange?

We could not agree more - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the lawyer due to be conducting your property ownership legalities in Cardiff.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - each client is unique individual, not a file reference. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are quoted for your conveyancing in Cardiff should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.

I have just started marketing my garden flat in Cardiff. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed, however I have recently received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the invoice as usual because all ground rent and maintenance payments will be allotted on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Cardiff Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

If a Cardiff lease has fewer than eighty years it will affect the salability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Cardifflease extensions you would be be obliged to have owned the property for a couple of years before you are legally able to carry out a lease extension. Most Cardiff leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the block set on behalf of the freeholder. Where you buy the property you will have to meet this amount, usually periodically accross the year. This can vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant amount, say about £50-£100 but you should to check as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds. What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the flat?

Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the bank conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the lender approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?

Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the mortgage company conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the lender solicitor panel.