My wife and I buying a 3 bedroom semi in Cardiff. Our aim is to carry out a loft conversion at the house.Will the conveyancing process include investigations to determine if these alterations are permitted?

Your conveyancer should review the deeds as conveyancing in Cardiff will on occasion reveal restrictions in the title deeds which restrict categories of works or necessitated the permission of a 3rd party. Some additions require local authority planning permissions and approval under the building regulations. Many locations are designated conservation areas and special planning restrictions apply which frequently prevent or affect extensions. You should check these issues with a surveyor ahead of any purchase.

I have today made my last payment due on my mortgage with Barclays. I assume I don't need a Cardiff conveyancer on the Barclays panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm.

If you have finished paying off your Barclays mortgage, they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Barclays mortgage from the register. Barclays, and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:

1. but are not moving to another property
2. where Barclays has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
3. Barclays has instructed the Land Registry to do so

I can not fathom if my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called into my local Cardiff building society branch on numerous occasions and was told it wasn't an issue and they would lend. My Cardiff conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I have no idea who is right.

The lawyer must follow the CML Handbook Part 2 conditions for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the mortgage company to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years remaining.

I appreciate that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Do I require this when purchasing a residence in Cardiff? or Apparently there is an ancient law that could mean that homeowners living in a parish church boundary will be compelled to pay for repairs to the chancel in proximity to the church. Is this applicable for conveyancing in Cardiff?

Unless a previous acquisition of the property took place post 12 October 2013 you could take it that conveyancing practitioners carrying out conveyancing in Cardiff to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.

About to purchase a new build flat in Cardiff. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.

Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Cardiff

Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. Please supply a car parking plan.

I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £195,000 and found one near me in Cardiff I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, the downside is that it's only got 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Cardiff in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?

Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be problematic. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.

I am attracted to a two flats in Cardiff which have approximately 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease deteriorates and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area.

I purchased a 1 bedroom flat in Cardiff, conveyancing was carried out in 2005. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Cardiff with over 90 years remaining are worth £222,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2095

With only 70 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.