I have justfound out that Wolstenholmes have been shut down. They conducted my conveyancing in Windermere for a purchase of a leasehold flat 18 months ago. How can I check that the property is not still registered in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest method to check if the premises is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Windermere conveyancing specialists.

Due to the encouragement of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a house in Windermere prior to instructing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. My surveyor advised that some mortgage companies tend refuse to give a mortgage on such a home.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements from Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Windermere. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

Am I right to be concerned that brokers that I am dealing with are recommending an online conveyancing firm as opposed to a local Windermere conveyancing practice?

As with many professional services, often input from family and friends can be extremely useful or valuable. Yet there are many players in a conveyancing matter; estate agents, mortgage brokers and mortgage companies might all put forward solicitors to select. On occasion these conveyancers might be known to one of the organisations as experts in their field, but occasionally there behind the scenes commercial relationship behind the recommendation. You have the discretion to choose your own lawyer. Don't forget that many lenders specify a panel list of conveyancers you have to use for the lender aspect of your home move.

I am 18 days into a freehold purchase having been recommend to a firm by the selling agent to perform conveyancing in Windermere. I am am very dissatisfied with the level of service. Could you you assist me in finding new lawyers?

They would have to be really poor in order to consider diss instructing them. Has the mortgage offer been issued? In the event that it has you need to make them aware of the new contact details and get the offer are issued to the new lawyers. The conveyancer should be on the banks panel to avoid escalating costs and delays. So that should be your first question of the new lawyers. The find a solicitor tool will help you find a lender approved conveyancer for your home move in Windermere

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Windermere. Conveyancing is yet to be initiated, however I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay the maintenance contribution as normal because all ground rent and maintenance payments will be apportioned 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Windermere Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying

The answer will be helpful as a) areas could cause problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where repairs are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to have all the details How long is the Lease? How much is the ground rent and service charge?