My wife and I are refinancing our penthouse in Erith with Leeds Building Society. We have a son 18 who lives with us. Our solicitor has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong 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 Leeds Building Society. This is solely used to protect Leeds Building Society 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 Leeds Building Society 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.
In what way does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Erith? Is this really warranted?
It is indeed that case that the requirement set out by your solicitor has nothing to do with conveyancing in Erith. Nowadays you will not be able to proceed with any conveyancing deal without first providing evidence of your identity. This usually takes the form of a either your passport or driving licence and a council tax bill. Remember if you are providing your driving licence as proof of ID it must be both the paper section as well as the photo card part, one is not sufficient in the absence of the other.
Proof of your origin of monies is mandated under Money Laundering Regulations. Please do not be offended when you are asked to produce this as your conveyancer must have this information on record. Your Erith conveyancing lawyer will require evidence of proof of funds before they are able to accept any money from you into their client account and they will also ask additional queries regarding the source of monies.
I have just over seventy years unexpired on my lease and need a lease extension for my flat in Erith. Conveyancing solicitors on the Bank of Ireland panel can deal with such extensions right?
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are obtaining a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Bank of Ireland have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 31/10/2025 the requirements read as follows :
Is it correct that all Erith CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors are on the Nottingham conveyancing panel?
A selection of banks and building societies now use CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to join their panels.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as RBS, do Erith property lawyers incur a yearly amount to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are unaware of any lender fees to register on their list of approved firms, although some do charge an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
We had instructed conveyancers located in Erith on the HSBC solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a separate fee for dealing with the HSBC mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by HSBC?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms and Conditions or estimate then yes your solicitor may levy a fee for this. The charge is not dictated by HSBC but by your Erith solicitor. Some firms on the HSBC panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee but many practices include it on their overall fee.
I used Action Conveyancing several years ago for my conveyancing in Erith. Now, I need the documents however the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?
Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in Erith of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously instructed, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.
In sourcing the world wide web for the term on line conveyancing in Erith it reveals numerous conveyancerslocally. With so much choice what is the best way to find the suitable property lawyer for purchase transaction?
The ideal way of choosing a suitable conveyancer is via personal testimonial, so seek the opinion of friends and those you trust who have acquired a property in Erith or the reputable estate agent or mortgage broker. Charges for conveyancing in Erith vary, so it's advisable to request at least three costs illustrations from different conveyancers. Be sure to seek confirmation what costs in the quote includes.