I am remortgaging my house in South Lambeth, does my lawyer need to be on the Nationwide Conveyancing panel?

There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor, but Nationwide will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is greater potential for delays and confusion with an additional lawyer added to the mix, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.

We had appointed conveyancers locally in South Lambeth on the RBS solicitor approved list. They have just invoiced me a separate sum for handling the RBS mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by RBS?

Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your conveyancer can levy a fee for this. This charge is not set by RBS but by your South Lambeth solicitor. Numerous firms on the RBS panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee but plenty of firms include it on their overall fee.

I've digested plenty of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local South Lambeth solicitor - who is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?

Clydesdale will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Clydesdale will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own South Lambeth surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

Our offer on a detached house in South Lambeth has been accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have put an offer on somewhere, but it’s not been accepted yet, and are looking at other apartments in the pipeline. I have instructed a nearby conveyancing solicitor in South Lambeth. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage application with Skipton going?

It is normal to have anxieties where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs prematurely (mortgage application is in the region of £1k, then survey, South Lambeth conveyancing search costs, etc). First, you must check that your conveyancing practitioner is on the Skipton approved list. Regarding the subsequent stages this very much dictated by the circumstances of your transaction, motivation for the property and on the state of the market. During a rising market some purchasers will apply for a home loan with Skipton and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their solicitor to press on with searches.

I am looking into buying my first house which is in South Lambeth and I am already nervous. I couldn't find anything specific about South Lambeth. Conveyancing will be needed in due course but do you know about the South Lambeth area? or perhaps some other tips you can share?

Rather than looking online forget looking online you should go and have a look at South Lambeth. In the meantime here are some basic statistics that we found

My husband and I are FTB’s - agreed a price, yet the estate agent informed us that the seller will only go ahead if we use their recommended solicitors as they need a ‘quick sale’. We would rather use a family conveyancer with experience of conveyancing in South Lambeth

We suspect that the seller is unaware of this demand. If they want ‘a quick sale', alienating a serious purchaser is going to damage their objectives. Speak to the vendors direct and make the point that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to progress, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you wish to move quickly (e)but you are going to use your own,trusted South Lambeth conveyancing firm - as opposed tothose that will give the estate agent a commission or achieve conveyancing figures pre-set by corporate headquarters.

I am are seeking to find a dependable conveyancing solicitor in South Lambeth to purchase a apartment. I am aware of the chance of getting ripped off but with so many South Lambeth conveyancing solicitors out there...who's the best?

The first thing to do when looking for a South Lambeth conveyancer is seek references from friends or trusted professionals. You are likely to know someone who has used a conveyancing solicitor previously. Do make the most of our tool to compare South Lambeth conveyancing quotes