Completed the sale of my flat in Wareham last April yet the purchaser is whats apping me to moan that his conveyancer is waiting to hear from mylawyer. What should have happened now that I have sold?

Post completion of your house sale your conveyancer is duty bound to send the transfer documentation and all additional paperwork to the purchaser's solicitors. If applicable, your lawyer should also confirm that the home loan has been redeemed to the purchasers conveyancers. There are no post completion tasks specific conveyancing in Wareham.

Do I have to attend the offices of the solicitor to execute the legal charge? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in Wareham so that I can pop in to their offices if required.

As opposed to twenty years ago, almost all banks no longer need their conveyancing panel lawyer to witness the mortgagors signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID documents and there are still distinct benefits to using a locally based practitioner, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Wareham.

Should our solicitor be asking questions concerning flooding during the conveyancing in Wareham.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers dealing with homes in Wareham. There are those who purchase a house in Wareham, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory insurance cover, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.

Conveyancers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a numerous searches that may be initiated by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which should give them a better appreciation of the risks in Wareham. The conventional set of information supplied to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a standard inquiry of the owner to determine whether the property has historically flooded. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not disclosed by the vendor, then a buyer could commence a compensation claim resulting from an misleading answer. A purchaser’s conveyancers will also conduct an enviro search. This will higlight whether there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional inquiries should be initiated.

I am looking for a conveyancing lawyer in Wareham for my home move. Is it possible to see a firm’s record with the legal regulator?

One can search for published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions resulting from inquisitions started on or after Jan 2008. Go to Check a solicitor's record. For details about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's record, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. International callers, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes monitor call for training purposes.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Wareham conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Wareham conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggest that you talk with several firms including non Wareham conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. The following questions could be of use:

How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation? What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Wareham in the last 12 months?

Wareham Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How many years are left on the lease? If a Wareham lease has no more than 80 years it will impact the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Warehamlease extensions you will need to own the property for 24 months before you are entitled to exercise a lease extension. In the main the outlay for major works are not wrapped into the service charges, although some managing agents in Wareham require leaseholders to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for major repairs or maintenance.