I am told that my conveyancing solicitors will need to check that the building insurance for my purchase of a house in Norwood. My lender is Accord Mortgages

Accord Mortgages have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 17/7/2019, the requirements read as follows :

We previously appointed conveyancers based in Norwood on the HSBC solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a separate charge for handling the HSBC mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by HSBC?

As unfair as it may appear, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your conveyancer can charge a fee for this. This charge is not dictated by HSBC but by your Norwood lawyer. Plenty of firms on the HSBC panel will levy ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.

I had a mortgage agreed in principle with Clydesdale. Norwood conveyancing practitioners were instructed. How long does it take for Clydesdale to issue the offer to the conveyancer?

Some lenders take longer than others. Have Clydesdale done the valuation? Have you informed Clydesdale as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

Having read lots of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Norwood solicitor - who is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?

Yorkshire BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Yorkshire BS 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 Norwood 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.

I am buying a new build apartment in Norwood. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.

Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Norwood

Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents. If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants.

Due to the guidance of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Norwood prior to retaining solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold element to the house. Our surveyor advised that some lenders tend refuse to grant a loan on this type of home.

It varies from the lender to lender. Bank of Scotland has different instructions for example to Birmingham Midshires. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Norwood. Conveyancing will be smoother if you use a solicitor in Norwood especially if they are familiar with such properties in Norwood.

What is the average legal costs for conveyancing in Norwood?

The average cost last year for conveyancing in Norwood was just under one thousand five hundred pounds excluding Stamp Duty and HMLR fees.