My partner and I are planning to buy a property in East Dulwich and are in fact using a East Dulwich conveyancing firm. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Accord Mortgages Ltd have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our East Dulwich conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?

If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own East Dulwich solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

Can I use your services to recommend a Conveyancing solicitor in East Dulwich even where I’m not purchasing or disposing of a house, for instance where I wish to buy a shop in East Dulwich with a mortgage from Lloyds TSB Bank?

The service is primarily there to help choose residential conveyancing solicitors in East Dulwich but we have set out towards the end of this page a few East Dulwich commercial conveyancing firms. You should make contact with the company directly to establish if they are also authorised to represent Lloyds TSB Bank

Will my solicitor be asking questions about flooding as part of the conveyancing in East Dulwich.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for solicitors conducting conveyancing in East Dulwich. There are those who acquire a house in East Dulwich, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, satisfactory building insurance, or sell the property. Steps can be carried out during the course of a property purchase to forewarn the buyer.

Lawyers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, however there are a various checks that can be undertaken by the buyer or by their lawyers which can give them a better understanding of the risks in East Dulwich. The standard completed inquiry forms given to a purchaser’s conveyancer (where the solicitors are adopting what is known as the Conveyancing Protocol) includes a standard inquiry of the seller to determine whether the premises has suffered from flooding. If flooding has previously occurred which is not revealed by the seller, then a buyer could commence a claim for damages as a result of such an incorrect response. The buyer’s lawyers may also conduct an enviro search. This should indicate whether there is any known flood risk. If so, further inquiries should be initiated.

We're new to the buying process - had an offer accepted, but the estate agent has warned us that the seller will only go ahead if we instruct their chosen solicitors as they want a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a high street conveyancer used to conveyancing in East Dulwich

We suspect that the owner is not behind this request. Should the seller want ‘a quick sale', turning down a genuine purchaser is not the way to achieve this. Speak to the vendors direct and make the point that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with mortgage lined up © you do not need to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you are going to appoint your own,trusted East Dulwich conveyancing solicitors - not the ones that will give their negotiator at the agency a commission or hit his conveyancing targets set by HQ.

I own a leasehold house in East Dulwich. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in East Dulwich who acted for me is not around. Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a East Dulwich conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I have given up seeking a lease extension in East Dulwich. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a East Dulwich conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a East Dulwich flat is Flat 1 40-42 Ewelme Road in August 2012. the Tribunal assessed the premium for the lease extension in the sum of £11,800 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 61.81 years.