My partner and I are refinancing our maisonette in Norbury with RBS. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this document specific to the RBS conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 5 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?

First, rest assured that your RBS 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 RBS. This is solely used to protect RBS 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 RBS 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 are purchasing a apartment in Norbury. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a conveyancer? At some point we have to deposit money into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our money?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

My fiancee and I are in the throws of looking at apartments in Norbury and I am about to put in an offer. Is it too early to have a solicitor in place? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Bank of Ireland.

You should start requesting conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the estate agent. Given that you are seeking a mortgage with Bank of Ireland, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Bank of Ireland conveyancing panel.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in Norbury. I have a mortgage agreed with Principality. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Principality, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Principality conveyancing panel.

Will our lawyer be raising enquiries regarding flooding as part of the conveyancing in Norbury.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors specialising in conveyancing in Norbury. There are those who purchase a house in Norbury, completely aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, suitable building insurance, or sell the premises. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the buyer.

Lawyers are not qualified to offer advice on flood risk, but there are a number of checks that may be undertaken by the purchaser or on a buyer’s behalf which can figure out the risks in Norbury. The standard information sent to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a usual inquiry of the vendor to determine if the property has suffered from flooding. In the event that flooding has previously occurred and is not revealed by the owner, then a purchaser may bring a claim for damages stemming from an incorrect reply. A purchaser’s lawyers will also carry out an enviro report. This will disclose if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, further inquiries will need to be carried out.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Norbury conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Norbury property is Flat 12, Newlands Court Streatham Common North in May 2012. the decision of the Tribunal was that the premium payable by the Applicants to the Respondent for the new lease of the Premises be £70,140. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term as at the valuation date was 23.25 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Norbury what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Norbury. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Bank of Scotland, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

The mortgage agreement from a bank for the refinancing of my 3 bedroom flat is due by the end of next week. Can you suggest a low cost remortgage conveyancing practitioner in Norbury ?

You are on the wrong site if you are in need of the cheapest conveyancing solicitors in Norbury. We can offer you cost effective conveyancing but we do not work with the cheapest lawyers. Do not be fooled by companies offering £99 conveyancing in Norbury.At best, in opting for cheap conveyancing, you will get what you pay for and at worst you will end up invoiced for extras and still not receive the service you were hoping for.