My grandfather passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor I was left the property in Deptford. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £4500. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to TSB, pay off the mortgage. Is this allowed?

Where you intend to refinance then TSB will require that you use a conveyancer on the TSB conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your TSB conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the TSB mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.

Will our lawyer be making enquiries regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Deptford.

Flooding is a growing risk for conveyancers dealing with homes in Deptford. Plenty of people will purchase a property in Deptford, fully aware that at some time, it may be flooded. However, aside from the physical destruction, where a property is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or dispose of the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.

Conveyancers are not qualified to impart advice on flood risk, however there are a various searches that can be undertaken by the buyer or by their solicitors which can figure out the risks in Deptford. The standard property information forms given to a buyer’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) incorporates a standard inquiry of the vendor to find out if the premises has historically flooded. In the event that the property has been flooded in past and is not notified by the owner, then a purchaser could bring a claim for damages as a result of such an incorrect answer. The buyer’s lawyers may also order an environmental report. This will reveal whether there is any known flood risk. If so, further inquiries should be initiated.

I am buying a new build house in Deptford with the aid of help to buy. The developers refused to budge the amount so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The estate agent advised me not reveal to my lawyer about the side-deal as it would impact my mortgage with the lender. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

My husband and I are FTB’s - had an offer accepted, but the property agent informed us that the seller will only go ahead if we use the agent's recommended lawyers as they want a ‘quick sale’. We would rather use a family solicitor who is familiar with conveyancing in Deptford

We suspect that the owner is unaware of this request. Should the owner desire ‘a quick sale', turning down a genuine purchaser is going to damage their objectives. Contact the sellers directly and make sure they comprehend that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances arranged © you have nothing to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you intend to instruct your preferred Deptford conveyancing solicitors - rather thanthe ones that will earn the negotiator at the agency a kickback or hit his conveyancing thresholds pre-set by senior management.

My fiance and I have just had an offer accepted on a house and had meeting on Friday with Nationwide for the mortgage. They warned us that when it comes to selecting a lawyer that if they are not on their approved list of conveyancers then we will incur a further charge of £250+. This is is due to the fact that they will then have to select a conveyancer to act for them as well as the one we choose to act on our behalf and we will be on the hook for their costs. I have requested Nationwide to supply me with a list so I can request estimates only from their approved lawyers but was told that I need to check with each individual conveyancer to see if they are on the panel. Is there a list online?

You should ask Nationwide what their panel criteria is for a conveyancer.Thereafter ask the lawyer of your choice whether they fit that criteria and have they acted on mortgages for Nationwide in the past. If the answer to those is yes, then just double check with Nationwide. Another option is to make use of our search tool and we should be able to identify a solicitor in Deptford on the panel for Nationwide.