Having sold my house in Worcestershire last May but my buyer keeps whats apping every few hours to moan that her conveyancer needs to hear from mine. What should my lawyer have done following completion?

Following your disposal your conveyancer is obliged to forward the transfer deeds and all additional paperwork to the purchaser's lawyers. Where appropriate, your conveyancer must also evidence that the home loan has been discharged to the buyers lawyers. There are no post completion requirements just for conveyancing in Worcestershire.

The Worcestershire conveyancing solicitors that I appointed last week on my house acquisition in Worcestershire have without warning closed. They were on acting for me because I had to have a lawyer on the UBS conveyancing panel and my family Worcestershire lawyer was not. I wrote them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What should be my next steps?

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the UBS conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to help.

How does conveyancing in Worcestershire differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build property in Worcestershire contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is built. This is because developers in Worcestershire tend to purchase the site, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Worcestershire or who has acted in the same development.

I opted to have a survey carried out on a house in Worcestershire prior to retaining lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies will not give a mortgage on such a home.

It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further with the appropriate mortgage company. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Worcestershire. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Worcestershire to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Worcestershire from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Worcestershire can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
Many freeholders or managing agents in Worcestershire levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Worcestershire. If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Worcestershire leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Should you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand. If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Worcestershire home move. If a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

Worcestershire Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be incorporated into the service charges, although a few managing agents in Worcestershire require tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against major works. It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other major work is anticipated to be shared by the leasehold owners and will materially impact the level of the maintenance charges or require a one off invoice. How much is the ground rent and service charge?