I am under pressure from the executor of a property in Cathays to sign contracts within four weeks. What can I do to speed up matters?

First, If the seller is applying time constraints to sign contracts it is highly recommended that your solicitor is familiar with the area as they will have local relationships and know-how. It is even conceivable that they would have transacted otherhouses in the same road. Therefore consider using a Cathays conveyancing firm. In addition, ensure that the lawyer is on the lender panel. It is said that nearly one in five of Cathays conveyancing deals are frustrated or jeopardised after discovering a buyer’s conveyancer was not on their mortgage lender’s panel. This can often result in the conveyancing being delayed by an average of 21 days. It is said that this issue impacts approximately one hundred thousand home moves annually. Almost all Cathays conveyancing firms can not act for certain mortgage companies so do check as early as possible.

In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Cathays? Is this really necessary?

Cathays conveyancing solicitors as well as nationwide property lawyers throughout the UK have an obligation under Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules to check the ID of any client in order to satisfy themselves that clients are who they say they are.

Conveyancing clients will need to produce two forms of certified identification; proof of ID (typically a Passport or Driving Licence) and evidence of address (typically a Bank Statement less than 3 months old).

Proof of the origin of monies is also necessary under the money laundering laws as solicitors have a duty to check that the money you are utilising to buy a property (be it the exchange deposit or the total purchase monies where you are a cash purchaser) has originated from a reputable source (such as employment savings) as opposed to the product of illegitimate behaviour.

My wife and I are buying a flat in Cathays. I might seem paranoid but how we can trust a lawyer? At some point we will need to send funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in Cathays what would it be?

Do not opt for the lowest Cathays conveyancing quote. You really do get what you’re paying for when it comes to property lawyers. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you know exactly what you’ll have to pay in ahead of time.

After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Cathays. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their conveyancer. I paid an advanced payment of £150. Not long after, the lawyer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Coventry BS 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 Coventry BS 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.

I am selling our house in Cathays and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being built on contaminated land. Any local conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers are using a national conveyancing firm as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Cathays. Having lived in Cathays for 5 years we know of no issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to obtain confirmation that there is no issue.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing solicitor already. What do they say? You must check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out life insurance to cover that same sickness)

I am purchasing a new build house in Cathays with a mortgage from Leeds Building Society. The developers would not move on the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The sale representative advised me not to tell my conveyancer about this side-deal as it may impact my loan with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.