I am not well enough to travel far from Penge. Please explain the reason why all Penge aren't included on all lender panels?

A decade ago most banks had an attitude to risk which differs from the current day. The financial regulator in 2010 conducted a thematic review into mortgage fraud which concluded: know the on your panel. Accordingly, banks have subsequently looked to extract more information from law firms about their operations and the individuals who work for them and set certain criteria such as completing a minimum amount of transactions. Hundreds of firms have been excluded from lender panels even though they had 100% healthy disciplinary record, no complaints and zero claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Such firms found it impossible meet the minimum volume of transactions the mortgage companies set.

My husband and I are getting closer to an exchange on a property in Penge and my mum and dad have transferred the ten percent deposit to my . I am now told that as the deposit has not come from me my needs to make a notification to my mortgage company. Apparently, in also acting for the bank he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is coming from anyone other than me. I advised the mortgage company regarding my parents' contribution when I applied for the mortgage, so is it really necessary for this now to delay the deal?

The is duty bound to clarify with lender to make sure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. Your solicitor can only disclose this to your mortgage company if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am unseasoned as FTB of a ground floor flat in Penge. Do I receive the keys to the property on completion from my solicitor? If this is the case, I will instruct a local conveyancing solicitor in Penge?

On the day of completion you do not need to go to the conveyancers office in Penge. Your solicitors will transfer the completion advance to the vendor’s solicitors, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you will be able to receive the keys from the selling Agents and move into your new home. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.

We had selected solicitors located in Penge on the solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a further sum for handling the mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by ?

Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your can charge a fee for this. The charge is not set by but by your Penge . Numerous firms on the panel will charge ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.

I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment in Penge. My mortgage broker suggested a . I paid an advanced payment of £225. A few days later, the called me sheepishly admitting 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 am buying my first flat in Penge with a mortgage from . The sellers refused to move on the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The sale representative advised me not reveal to my conveyancer about this extras as it will affect my loan with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

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 brother has recommend that I instruct his conveyancers in Penge. Should I use them?

No doubt the ideal way to find a conveyancing practitioner is to get referrals from friends or relatives who have actually experience in using the conveyancer that you are contemplating using.