My wife and I swapping mortgage lender for our apartment in Lewisham with . We have a son 19 who lives at home. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?

On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong 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 . This is solely used to protect 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 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.

I am buying a new build flat in Lewisham. Conveyancing solicitors are said to be ‘a necessary evil’ but can I do it myself?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Lewisham you will have to appoint a solicitor on your lender's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Lewisham.

Do I select a Licenced Conveyancer or Solicitor for conveyancing in Lewisham?

There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in Lewisham and Solicitor partnerships in Lewisham who can help with your conveyancing It is important to make clear that both are regulated professionals specialising in the legal aspects of the home buying process. They may both also deal with associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.

Is it the case that all Lewisham CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the conveyancing panel?

A selection of lenders now utilise the accreditation scheme as the kick off point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of firms.

I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Lewisham. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their . I paid an on account payment of £150. A couple of days later, the contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a property I have offered on last month in what was supposed to be a quick, no chain conveyancing. Lewisham is where the house is located. Can you offer any guidance?

Flying freeholds in Lewisham are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Lewisham you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your bank may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Lewisham may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.

I purchased a 1st floor flat in Lewisham, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1995. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Lewisham with an extended lease are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 50

With 50 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £36,100 and £41,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.