I require conveyancing for an apartment in a fairly new development (6 years old) in Rotherhithe. Almost all the flats have already been disposed of. Is it really necessary to order neighbourhood searches as part of conveyancing in Rotherhithe?

If you are purchasing a property with the assistance of a loan, your bank will require some (many) of the searches so you'll have no choice. If not, then Rotherhithe conveyancing searches are optional. No doubt your conveyancer, will 'advise', perhaps in the strongest possible terms, that you should not go ahead without searches, but he or she has a professional duty to do this. One thing to bear in mind; if you are likely to sell the house one day, it may be of interest to your future buyer what the searches contain. Sometimes houses with no practical issues can still throw up adverse search results. But if you choose to instruct your lawyer to proceed without searches then your lawyer will have to follow your instructions or you will need to change to another solicitor for your conveyancing in Rotherhithe.

What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Rotherhithe

There are many registered licenced Conveyancers in Rotherhithe and Solicitor firms in Rotherhithe offering conveyancing It is important to make clear that the two are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal work in the home buying process. The two can handle associated property related work such as remortgage conveyancing, lease extensions and transfer of equity conveyancing.

My partner and I are spending time looking at houses in Rotherhithe and I am now considering a potential offer. Is it best to have my on ‘stand by’? I intend to finance via a mortgage with .

You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the selling agent. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with , ask your prospective lawyers if they are on the conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

I currently have a mortgage with for my property in Rotherhithe. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform ?

You must advise before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of ’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies 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 directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a conveyancing panel lawyer.

I have been pointed in your direction by a number of property agents in Rotherhithe to get a quote from a property lawyer using your seach tool. Is there a financial inducement for Estate Agents to promote your services over a competitor’s?

We refuse to give any commission for pointing buyers and sellers to this site. We found it would be just too difficult a fee because members of the public would think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.

I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for residential conveyancing in Rotherhithe. I have discover a web site which seems to have the perfect answer If it is possible to get all formalities done via phone that would be ideal. Should I be wary? What are the potential pitfalls?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Rotherhithe - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

You should be aware if it is no more than eighty years it will affect the value of the flat. Check with your lender that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the residence for 24 months in order to be legally able to exercise a lease extension. Make sure you find out if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance it is fairly common in Rotherhithe leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Rotherhithe. If you like the propertyin Rotherhithe yet your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced hard determination. Best to be warned if window replacement or some other significant cost is due shortly that will be shared amongst the tenants and will materially impact the level of the service costs or result in a one time invoice.