I am getting a mortgage offer from Nat West. I intend to use a Licensed Conveyancer in Penge. Does the Nat West Conveyancing panel allow for conveyancers regulated by the CLC?

The Nat West conveyancing panel is, like many other lenders, associated to the CML or BSA, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

My husband and I are only a couple days away from an exchange on a flat in Penge and my parents have sent the ten percent deposit to my conveyancer. I am now advised that as the deposit has been received from someone other than me my conveyancer needs to make a notification to my mortgage company. I am advised that, in also acting for the lender he must inform them that the balance of the purchase price is not just from me. I disclosed to the mortgage company regarding my parents' contribution when I applied for the mortgage, so is it really necessary for him to raise this?

Your solicitor is legally required to check with the bank to ensure that they understand that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own resources. The solicitor can only notify this to your mortgage company if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.

I had a mortgage agreed in principle with Yorkshire BS. Penge conveyancing practitioners are selected. How long does it take for Yorkshire BS to forward the offer to the conveyancing practitioner?

Some lenders take longer than others. Have Yorkshire BS conducted the valuation? Have you advised Yorkshire BS as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.

After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on a house in Penge. My mortgage broker suggested a property lawyer. I paid an on account payment of £200. A couple of days later, the conveyancer called me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Kent Reliance conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Kent Reliance panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by Santander. Is it usual for Santander to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Penge is approved on their conveyancing panel? Santander have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.

A lender would not issue an offer 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.

My relative advised me that where I am buying in Penge I should ask my conveyancer to execute a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. Can you explain what the purpose of this search is?

A search of this type is sometimes quoted for as part of the standard Penge conveyancing searches. It is a large report of more than thirty pages, listing and setting out important information about Penge around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the type of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data regarding Penge.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Penge from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Penge can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ conveyancers.
The majority of freeholders or Management Companies in Penge charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Penge. You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale. If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled. A minority of Penge leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Penge. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Penge residence is Flats 5, 9, 38 & 40 Blakewood Court Anerley Park in January 2012. the tribunal held that the premiums payable for the new lease sare: FLAT 5:- £7,130 FLAT 9:- £7,860 FLAT 38:- £15,867 FLAT 40: £14,834 This case was in relation to 4 flats.