Find a Lender-Approved Local Conveyancer in Wick

I have given 2 months notice to my current landlord and have to be out of my let out property in Wick by the end of next month. Conveyancing on my purchase is underway. Can I complete in three weeks as don't want to have to move into short term accommodation?

It is unwise to give notice on a rental unless you have exchanged. If you have not already done so, notify to your lawyer and ask them to they chase the other solicitors, try to get a realistic time scale from them that everyone will work towards

The Wick conveyancing lawyers that I recently instructed on my purchase in Wick have without warning closed. I chose them because I had to have a solicitor on the Lloyds conveyancing panel and my preferred Wick lawyer was not. I cut them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What do I do now?

If you have an estate agent involved then inform them straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Lloyds 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 solicitors may be able to help.

I used Wolstenholmes a few years past for my conveyancing in Wick. I now require my papers but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

You should call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate 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 Wick of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I decided to have a survey done on a house in Wick prior to instructing conveyancers. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold overhang to the house. The surveyor has said that some banks will not grant a mortgage on this type of property.

It varies from the lender to lender. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Halifax. Should you wish to call us we can check with the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Wick. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Wick especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Wick.

I am looking for a conveyancing lawyer in Wick for my home move. Can I review a firm’s complaints history with the profession’s regulator?

You can see published Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations arising from investigations commenced on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For records Pre 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. For non-uk callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The SRA sometimes recorded call for training reasons.

Completion is due on our sale of a £475,000 apartment in Wick in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Wick?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Wick conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

Answering pre-contract enquiries Where consent is required before sale in Wick Supplying insurance information Deeds of covenant upon sale Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Wick leasehold property is £350. For Wick conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

Wick Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants benefit from control and although a managing agent is usually employed if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Most Wick leasehold flats will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the block levied by the management company. Should you buy the property you will have to meet this liability, normally in instalments throughout the year. This could vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a significant amount, say around £50-£100 but you need to enquire as on occasion it can be surprisingly expensive. How much is the ground rent and service charge?