My fiance and I are looking to buy a flat in Norbiton and have appointed a Norbiton conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Nottingham Building Society have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our Norbiton solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is standard for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your bank and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred Norbiton lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
Do the conveyancing solicitors identified via your search tool carry out auction conveyancing in Norbiton?
We know of a number of niche solicitors we can put you in touch with those who can conduct auction conveyancing. Norbiton is just one of our locations in which our lawyers have offices.
Do lawyers ask for money on account when it comes to conveyancing in Norbiton?
Where you are retaining lawyers for conveyancing in Norbiton your lawyer will ask you put them with monies to cover the the cost of the conveyancing searches. This will be the total of the cost of the conveyancing searches. When the down payment is as part of the total price then this will be required shortly in advance of contracts are exchanged. Any further balance that is due should be transferred a couple of days prior to the completion date.
I am told that my conveyancing solicitors will need to check that the building insurance when buying a house in Norbiton. My lender is Bank of Ireland
Bank of Ireland have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 19/8/2026, the requirements read as follows :
What is the difference between a licensed conveyancer and conveyancing solicitor in Norbiton
There are many recorded licenced Conveyancers in Norbiton and Solicitor partnerships in Norbiton who can help with your conveyancing We would stress that the two are supervised by regulatory bodies with both specialising in the legal work in the home buying process. Both can deal with other property legal work such as remortgage conveyancing, enfranchisement and transfer of equity conveyancing.
We previously instructed solicitors with offices in Norbiton on the Aldermore solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a supplemental sum for dealing with the Aldermore mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Aldermore?
As unfair as it may seem, as long as it’s in their Terms of Engagement or estimate then yes your conveyancing practitioner is entitled to levy a fee for this. This charge is not set by Aldermore but by your Norbiton property lawyer. Plenty of firms on the Aldermore panel will quote an ‘acting for lender’ fee but many practices incorporate it on their overall fee.
Intending to buy a house in Norbiton. 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 Yorkshire BS 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 Norbiton lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel.
How does conveyancing in Norbiton differ for newly converted properties?
Most buyers of new build residence in Norbiton approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the premises is built. This is because new home sellers in Norbiton typically purchase the real estate, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are accustomed to new build conveyancing in Norbiton or who has acted in the same development.