The loan offer from HSBC for the remortgage of my 4 bedroom maisonette is expected within the next few days. Could you put forward a cheap conveyancing lawyer in Purley?

You are on the wrong site if you are in need of cut-price fees for conveyancing in Purley. Our aim is to provide excellent value conveyancing but our intention is not to advertise as being the cheapest. Do not be swayed by organisations offering low cost conveyancing in Purley. Optimistically, in being led by cheap conveyancing, you will get your money’s worth and at worst you will end up paying a lot in additional fees and still not get the service expected.

When scouring mumsnet.com for a cheap lawyer in Purley, most post that I must look for a CQS assured lawyer. Can you explain what CQS is?

The Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) provides a kitemark for residential conveyancing practices issued by the Law Society. Membership achievement establishes a level of credibility for member firms with stakeholders (regulators, lenders, insurers and consumers) based upon: * the integrity of the senior responsible officer and other key conveyancing staff * the firm's adherence to good practice management standards * adherence to prudent and efficient conveyancing processes via the scheme protocol Membership includes numerous companies who conduct conveyancing in Purley.

Completion of my purchase has taken place for my property in Purley. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about the lender. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?

Almost all banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the lender’s branches or the Customer Care Department at head office. Ordinarily complaints to a lender are sorted out very quickly. However if you are not satisfied that the matter is not resolved you can write to Financial Ombudsman Service, South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.

I had an offer accepted on a property in Purley on 20/9/2024, valuation was booked five days after, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer appointed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Santander and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?

A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Santander to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Santander conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I've digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Purley solicitor - who is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?

Co-operative will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Co-operative will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Purley surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

It has been four months since my purchase conveyancing in Purley took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

I am buying a new build house in Purley benefiting from help to buy. The developers would not reduce the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The property agent told me not inform my lawyer about the extras as it would adversely affect my loan with Santander. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.