I am helping my step-mother sell her house in Wirral. Will the solicitor commission an EPC or it is for me to coordinate?

After the abolition of Home Information Packs, energy assessments became a mandatory element of selling a house. An energy performance certificate should be to hand before the property is put on the market. This is not as aspect of the sale process that conveyancers ordinarily organise. Where you are instructing a Wirral conveyancing solicitor they may be willing to arrange energy assessments given their relationships with long established Wirral accredited person

I am being advised by my lawyer that defective lease insurance is needed on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Wirral conveyancing?

The appropriate level of defective lease indemnity insurance should be dictated by who who your lender is. It would differ for example between Accord Mortgages Ltd and The Royal Bank of Scotland. Conveyancing practitioners as opposed to borrowers take out such policies.

The formalities of my remortgage has taken place for my property in Wirral. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I feel I should register my dissatisfaction about the lender. How do I make a complaint?

Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Services Department at head office. In most cases complaints to a lender are resolved effectively and efficiently. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.

I used Wolstenholmes several years past for my conveyancing in Wirral. I now require my papers but cannot find the solicitor. What do I do?

Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Wirral of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in Wirral I like with open areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Wirral in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

Should you require a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will be an issue. Discount the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can request that they start the process of the extension and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing solicitor about this matter.

Last March I purchased a leasehold flat in Wirral. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am the registered owner of a 2 bed flat in Wirral, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1995. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Wirral with over 90 years remaining are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2083

With just 58 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £21,900 and £25,200 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

My wife and I have instructed a Wirral conveyancing solicitor for our home move (FTB’s) and have picked up in the terms and conditions that they are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Need I be worried or is that the norm with conveyancing practitioner?

We can't see why they should be. Most property lawyer don't lend money. You should check that they are governed by the SRA, who set stringent obligations in place on monies held on client account.