I am buying a right to buy a flat in Rotherhithe. How practical is it for me to do the conveyancing?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Rotherhithe 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 Rotherhithe.

I have a mortgage with Clydesdale for my property in Rotherhithe. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Clydesdale?

You must advise Clydesdale before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Clydesdale’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Clydesdale will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Clydesdale directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Clydesdale conveyancing panel firm.

The formalities of my purchase has taken place for my property in Rotherhithe. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?

Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. If you feel the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.

After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Rotherhithe. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers. I paid an on account payment of £200. Soon after, the conveyancer contacted me to say that they were not on the Aldermore 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 Aldermore 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.

My company is looking to lease a unit on a shopping parade. Can you recommend conveyancers offering fixed fees for non-domestic conveyancing in Rotherhithe for less than 1500k?

We can recommend firms who have well rounded knowledge of commercial conveyancing in Rotherhithe, including the sale and purchase of businesses as well as simply premises. If you are intending to buy or dispose of a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail premises or a whole business we will find you the right firm. As for the charges this will depend on the structure and terms of the deal. Please provide us with your details or telephone so as to enable us to provide you with comprehensive commercial conveyancing calculation.

We are 3 weeks into a leasehold purchase having been directed to solicitors by the local agent to do our conveyancing in Rotherhithe. I am am extremely frustrated with the level of service. Can you you assist me in finding new solicitors?

They would need to be really bad in order to consider changing them. Has your mortgage offer been sent? If so you must inform them of the new conveyancer and have the loan are re-issued. Your conveyancer needs to be on the mortgage company approved list to avoid supplemental fees and complications. That should be your first question of the new lawyers. Our search tool should assist you in finding a bank approved lawyer for your home move in Rotherhithe

We are considering choosing an online conveyancer rather than a Rotherhithe conveyancing practice. Should I ‘stay local’?

Numerous benefits exist in having the option visit a local Rotherhithe conveyancing solicitor such as

• signing documents and and when necessary
• having face-to-face explanations of matters that you need help with
• the ability to complain if matters go pear-shaped

When comparing fees, look out for hidden extras. Most decent Rotherhithe high street solicitors give an all-inclusive figure. Many online agents appear to offer low cost prices, but have hidden 'extras' in the fine print.