My home in Lewisham is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Will the property lawyer have to be required to be on the TSB conveyancing panel in order to deal with the discharge of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the TSB conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their conditions fairly frequently in recent years.
is it true that all Lewisham solicitor practices on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Yorkshire BS approved list of solicitors they would need to be regulated by the SRA. The majority of banks do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the practice would be regulated by the CLC.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Lewisham off the council. I have a mortgage offer with Virgin Money. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?
It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Virgin Money, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel.
I am due to exchange contracts on my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in September 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, HSBC are being a right pain. The Lewisham solicitor who is on the HSBC conveyancing panel is saying indemnity insurance will be fine but HSBC are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do HSBC have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that HSBC have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why HSBC may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
How does conveyancing in Lewisham differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build or newly converted property in Lewisham approach us having been asked by the builder to exchange contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because new home sellers in Lewisham tend to purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Lewisham or who has acted in the same development.
I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one near me in Lewisham I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, however it's only got 51 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Lewisham in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?
If you need a mortgage that many years may be an issue. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the property for at least twenty four months you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the existing lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer about this.
Hoping to buy a property located in Lewisham and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about Lewisham. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the Lewisham area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?
Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at Lewisham. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found
As co-executor for the estate of my grandmother I am disposing of a property in Newport but I am based in Lewisham. My lawyer (approximately 260 miles awayhas requested that I sign a statutory declaration prior to the transaction finalising. Can you recommend a conveyancing practitioner in Lewisham to witness and place their company stamp on the document?
strictly speaking you are unlikely to be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are Lewisham based