What does my ID and proof of funds have anything to do with my conveyancing in Lee? Is this really warranted?

Lee conveyancing solicitors and indeed property practitioners accross the UK have an obligation under money laundering regulations to check the ID of any client with a view to satisfy themselves that clients are who they say they are.

Conveyancing clients will need to supply two forms of certified identification; proof of identity (typically a Passport or Driving Licence) and evidence of address (typically a Bank Statement less than 3 months old).

Evidence of the origin of monies is also necessary in compliance with the money laundering laws as solicitors are duty bound to investigate that the monies you are using to buy a property (whether it be the deposit for exchange or the full purchase price where you are buying mortgage free) has originated from legitimate source (such as employment savings) as opposed to the fruits of criminal behaviour.

Are the BSA planning on creating a search tool with a view to list solicitors on the conveyancing panel for instance in Lee?

LenderPanel has not been advised of any intention on the part of the BSA to promote such a tool.

My father informed me that in purchasing a property in Lee there could be various restrictions preventing external changes to the property. Is this right?

There are a number of properties in Lee which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Lee should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

I currently have a mortgage with for my property in Lee. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform ?

Your original mortgage agreement with will provide that you need their approval before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of ’s mortgage conditions. It may be that will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a conveyancing panel solicitor.

After what seems like an age I have had an offer on an apartment in Lee agreed to, the vendors do nevertheless have a connected purchase. The sellers have placed an offer on somewhere, but it’s not yet agreed to, and have viewings of other flats in the pipeline. I have chosen a local conveyancing solicitor in Lee. What do I do now? At what point do I apply for the mortgage with ?

It is usual to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (home loan application is approx £1k, then survey, Lee conveyancing search fees, etc). First, you should check that your is on the conveyancing panel. Regarding the subsequent stages this very much depends on the specifics of your case, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market some buyers would apply for the mortgage with and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their to press on with searches.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and found one round the corner in Lee I like with amenity areas and railway links in the vicinity, the downside is that it's only got 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Lee in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake acquiring a short lease?

If you require a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for at least twenty four months you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor about this.

My partner and I may need to sub-let our Lee 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Lee conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Lee do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

Lee Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

How long is the Lease? Is there a share of the freehold? Many Lee leasehold flats will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the management company. Where you acquire the property you will have to pay this amount, normally in instalments throughout the year. This may vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds.