We are getting the release of further monies on our home loan from Yorkshire BS as we wish to conduct improvements to our house in Monmouth. Do we need to select a nearby Monmouth solicitor on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel to handle the legals?

Yorkshire BS would not normally require a member of their approved list of lawyers to handle such a matter. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Yorkshire BS panel.

I am expecting a DIP from Barclays 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 Barclays recommend any Monmouth solicitors on the Barclays conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently?

You will need to appoint Monmouth solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Barclays conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Barclays through the process.

After months of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Monmouth. My mortgage broker suggested a lawyer. I paid an advanced payment of £175. A few days later, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me to say that they were not on the Co-operative 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 Co-operative 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 moved into my apartment on 16 May and the transaction details are still not on the land registry website. Need I be worried? My conveyancing solicitor in Monmouth advises it should be registered in less than a month. Are titles in Monmouth particularly slow to register?

As far as conveyancing in Monmouth is concerned, registration is no faster or slower than the rest of England and Wales. Rather than based on location, timeframes can adjust according to the party submitting the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry communicate with any interested persons or bodies. Currently roughly three quarters of such applications are fully addressed within 12 days but occasionally there can be protracted hold-ups. Historically registration is effected once the purchaser is living at the premises so post completion formalities is not usually an essential issue but if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your conveyancer can communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for the application to be prioritised.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Monmouth. Conveyancing is a frightening process 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 are examples of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Monmouth

Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. 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.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £195,000 and identified one round the corner in Monmouth I like with a park and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 49 years unexpired on the lease. There is not much else in Monmouth suitable, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a lease with such few years left?

Should you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term may be an issue. Reduce the offer by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing proprietor has owned the property for at least 2 years you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.

Should I instruct a Monmouth conveyancing practitioner who is local to the property I am buying? An old friend can execute the legal formalities but her office is over three hundred kilometers away.

The benefit of a local Monmouth conveyancing practice is that you can attend the office to sign paperwork, hand in your identification documents and pester them if necessary. They will also have local intelligence which is a benefit. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and on the whole were content that should trump using an unknown Monmouth conveyancing solicitor solely due to them being local.