My husband and I swapping mortgage lender for our flat in Deptford with Barclays. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Barclays conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this compromise his entitlement to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your Barclays conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Barclays. This is solely used to protect Barclays if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave. It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Barclays had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.

We wanted to use a property lawyer in Deptford for our house purchase. Our broker has since notified us that our mortgage lenders Lloyds TSB Bank won't deal with them. Why is this not regarded as unduly restrictive?

A lender may require an approved conveyancer act for it. Borrowers are liable to bear the cost of this. Try using our database to get a quote from a solicitor to carry conveyancing in Deptford on the Lloyds TSB Bank approved list of solicitors.

I am helping my mother sell her house in Deptford. Does the solicitor commission an EPC or it is for the seller to see to?

After the demise of HIPs, EPC’s became a compulsory element of moving house. An energy assessment should be commissioned in advance of the property being placed on the market. This is not something that solicitors normally arrange. If you are using a Deptford conveyancing solicitor they might be able to arrange EPC’s given their relationships with reputable local energy assessors

I'm the only beneficiary of my late father’s estate with all property in now in my sole name, including the house in Deptford. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in September. I want to move. I understand that there is a Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', which means that my property ownership could be regarded the same way as though I had purchased the house in September. Will no one buy the property for half a year?

The CML handbook mandates conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you might be affected by that. How practical a view lenders take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this obligation is chiefly there to pick up on the purchase and immediately sell or the quick reselling of property.

I'm at the point of viewing flats in Deptford and I am about to put in an offer. Is it wise to have a conveyancing practitioner on ‘stand by’? I am planning to take a home loan with Co-operative.

It would be wise to start your search sooner rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the EA. Given that you are taking out a mortgage with Co-operative, ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Deptford. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Deptford ?

The majority of houses in Deptford are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Deptford so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Deptford conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

Having spent years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Deptford. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Deptford premises is 41 Endwell Road in March 2013. this matter relateed to the acquisition of the freehold of a mid- terraced Victorian house converted into three separate self-contained dwellings. By an order dated 28/11/2012, Deputy District Judge Cole in the Bromley County Court held that the leaseholders were entitled to acquire the freehold and directed that the premium payable be determined by this Tribunal. The Tribunal assessed the premium to be £14,753 This case affected 3 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 80.01 years.

Builders have suggested I use a property lawyer and I've obtained an estimate from them. They are nearly £400 less expensive than my family Deptford solicitor. What's the catch?

Developers often have lists of conveyancers who are quick and who know the seller’s contract and property lawyer. Plenty of developers offer an inducement to choose a preferred conveyancer for this reason, any increased cost can be avoided and a developer won't recommend a conveyancing factory and run the risk of having the conveyancing stall when they demand an exchange inside a month. A counter-argument for not agreeing to use the suggested lawyer is that they may be reluctant to fight for your interests at the risk of alienating the sellers. If you worry that this may be the case you should keep with your high street Deptford solicitor.