I am buying a garden flat in Southwark. How practical is it for me to do the conveyancing?

Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing in Southwark you will have to appoint a solicitor on your lender's conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to be made in you doing conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on your lender panel in Southwark.

I can not fathom if my lender requires a lease extension. I have telephoned my Southwark building society branch on a couple of occasions and was informed it wasn't a problem and they will lend. My Southwark conveyancing solicitor - who is on the bank conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told they will not lend based on their UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I have no idea who is right.

The has to comply with the CML Handbook section two specifications for your bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the bank will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

About to purchase flat in Southwark. I have received an online quote from a licenced conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that the Southwark is on the conveyancing panel.

My sealed bid on a house in Southwark has been agreed to, but there is a chain. The sellers have placed an offer on on an apartment, but it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other flats in the pipeline. I have chosen a bricks and mortar conveyancing solicitor in Southwark. What should be my next step? At what stage should I apply for the mortgage with ?

It is understandable to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur expenses too early (home loan application is in the region of £1k, then valuation, Southwark conveyancing search costs, etc). The first course of action is to ensure that your is on the conveyancing panel. Regarding the subsequent stages this very much depends on the uniqueness of your case, attraction to the property and on the state of the market. In a rising market many home buyers will apply for a home loan with and arrange for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they ask their to move forward with the conveyancing in Southwark.

What can a local search inform me concerning the house my wife and I purchasing in Southwark?

Southwark conveyancing often starts with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations for example PSG The local search plays an important part in most Southwark conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your new home. The search will provide information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject areas.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Southwark?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Southwark. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Southwark garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Southwark conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Southwark do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a copy of the sublease.

I inherited a studio flat in Southwark, conveyancing formalities finalised 3 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Southwark with a long lease are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £45 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 50

With 50 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £36,100 and £41,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.