I have just been advised by my mortgage adviser that my Penge property lawyer is not on the lender Conveyancing panel. How can I be sure whether this is correct?

The first thing you need to do is to call your Penge lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a Penge conveyancing practice that is on the approved list of lawyers for your lender.

I am selling our property in Penge and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. A local conveyancer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers are using a national conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Penge. Having lived in Penge for six years we know of no issue. Should we contact our local Authority to seek confirmation that there is no issue.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm already. What do they say? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same illness)

I have recentlybecome aware that Arc property Solicitors have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in Penge for a purchase of a leasehold flat 10 months ago. How can I be sure that the property is in my name in the name of the previous owner?

The quickest way to check if the property is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Penge conveyancing specialists.

I am buying a new build flat in Penge. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Penge

The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Please supply a car parking plan. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents.

I opted to have a survey done on a property in Penge ahead of instructing solicitors. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold element to the house. The surveyor has said that some banks tend refuse to issue a mortgage on a flying freehold property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Bank of Scotland has different requirements for example to Halifax. If you call us we can check via the relevant bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Penge. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Penge especially if they are accustomed to such properties in Penge.