My fiance and I are looking to buy a property in Lewisham and have appointed a Lewisham conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. TSB have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Lewisham lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?

If you are buying a property requiring a mortgage it is normal for the purchasers' solicitors 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 solicitor should contact your mortgage company 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Lewisham solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

Finally the sale completed on my house in Lewisham last November but my buyer keeps calling every few hours to say her lawyer is waiting to hear from mine. What should my lawyer have done now that I have sold?

Post completion of your house sale your solicitor is committed to forward the transfer documentation and all of the paperwork to the buyer’s solicitors. If applicable, your solicitor should also evidence that the mortgage has been paid off to the buyers solicitors. There are no post completion procedures unique to conveyancing in Lewisham.

I have todaybecome aware that Action Conveyancing have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Lewisham for a purchase of a leasehold flat 18 months ago. How can I check that my home is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest method to see if the premises is in your name, you can carry out a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Lewisham conveyancing specialists.

About to purchase a new build apartment in Lewisham. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below is a sample of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Lewisham

Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Lewisham both have approximately 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Lewisham. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Lewisham conveyancing firm to help?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Lewisham conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Lewisham property is 73 Walerand Road in August 2012. the result of the findings of the Tribunal led to a premium to be paid for the extended lease in respect of Flat 73 in the sum of £10,040. The premium applicable in respect of Flat 85 was £5,710. This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired residue of the current lease was 72 years.