Finally the sale completed on my house in Anerley last August yet the purchaser is telephoning me complaining that his lawyer is waiting to hear from mine. What should my lawyer have done following completion?

Post completion of your sale your conveyancer is committed to send the transfer documentation and all additional paperwork to the purchaser's conveyancer. Where appropriate, your solicitor must also confirm that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been repaid to the buyers solicitors. There is unlikely to be post completion tasks unique to conveyancing in Anerley.

I am assisting my step-mother sell her property in Anerley. Will the conveyancing solicitor arrange the energy performance certificate or should I organise this?

Following the abolition of Home Information Packs, energy performance certificates became a compulsory element of selling a property. An energy assessment needs to be to hand before the property is advertised. It is not something that law firms ordinarily arrange. If you are using a Anerley conveyancing lawyer they may help arrange energy performance certificates given their contacts with long established Anerley energy assessors

I am expecting a AIP from HSBC this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do HSBC recommend any Anerley solicitors on the HSBC conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?

You will need to appoint Anerley solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the HSBC conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and HSBC through the process.

I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property in Anerley off the council. I have a mortgage offer with HSBC. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with HSBC, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the HSBC conveyancing panel.

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly picked up during conveyancing in Anerley?

Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Anerley. 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…’

I'm buying a new build house in Anerley with a loan from Halifax. The developers refused to budge the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The property agent suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about the extras as it would affect my mortgage with the lender. 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.

In my capacity as executor for the will of my uncle I am disposing of a house in Monmouth but reside in Anerley. My conveyancer (who is 235 miles from meneeds me to execute a stat dec ahead of completion. Could you suggest a conveyancing practitioner in Anerley who can attest this legal document for me?

Technically speaking you are unlikely to need to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or qualified solicitor will do regardless of whether they are based in Anerley