I am obtaining a mortgage with Santander. I hope to retain the legal services of a Licensed Conveyancer in Forest Hill. Does the Santander Conveyancing panel allow for Licensed Conveyancers?

The Santander approved solicitor list is, like many other lenders, associated to the Council or Mortgage Lenders or BSA, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the CLC.

Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Forest Hill costs more?

Forest Hill leasehold properties involve far more paperwork than a freehold purchase, and therefore takes more time to examine and advise upon.Conveyancing will involve the lease having to be checked which is usually a lengthy document, queries raised to ensure that the covenants and conditions have been observed. If it is a flat there will be a management company in existence and the accounts of this will need to be checked and enquiries raised to ensure it is operating efficiently and that all monies due have been paid by the Seller to the company and if not ensuring that money is paid up to date or the appropriate undertakings obtained.

Forgive me if this question is silly but I am wet behind the ears as a first time purchaser of a two bedroom flat in Forest Hill. Do I pick up the keys to the house on completion from my solicitor? If so, I will appoint a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Forest Hill?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will arrange to send the completion advance to the owner’s conveyancers, and once they have received this, you will be able to collect the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. Usually this occurs between 1 and 3pm.

A relative informed me that in buying a property in Forest Hill there could be a number of restrictions preventing external changes to a property. Is this right?

We are aware of a number of properties in Forest Hill which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external alterations. Part of the conveyancing in Forest Hill should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

Are all Forest Hill Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the conveyancing panel?

A selection of banks and building societies now make use of CQS as the kick off point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation 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 firms wishing to join their panels.

Me and my brother purchased a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Forest Hill. Conveyancing solicitor represented me and . I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold under the matching property. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?

You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Forest Hill and other locations in the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the situation with your conveyancing practitioner who conducted the conveyancing.

I'm buying a new build house in Forest Hill with the aid of help to buy. The builders would not move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of fixtures and fittings instead. The estate agent advised me not disclose to my solicitor about this side-deal as it could put at risk my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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.