The lawyer who assisted with my former purchase has quoted £1150 for freehold conveyancing in Twickenham. I am selling a Georgian property for £250,000. Are the quoted fees excessive? Is it above the norm for conveyancing in Twickenham?
The quote is fractionally on the high side. If you shop around you might trim some of the expense by perhaps £125. On the other hand, you maycome to regret choosing an an untested lawyer. If is important to check that the conveyancer can also act for your bank. Do employ our search tool to select a Twickenham conveyancing company on the banks approved list of lawyers which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Twickenham.
I have 7378 less than 75 years unexpired on my lease and need a lease extension for my flat in Twickenham. Conveyancing solicitors on the Nationwide Building Society panel can deal with such extensions correct?
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are securing a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Nationwide Building Society have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 16/7/2025 the requirements read as follows :
- There must be at least 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term (regardless of the length of lease at the start).
Where the unexpired lease term is different to that recorded on the mortgage offer, the following clarifies if we need to be informed:
Second hand property:
- If the unexpired lease term on the offer is 85 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 85 years
- if the unexpired lease term on the offer is less than 85 years – advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported
- For equity share applications - advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
- Where lending is over 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat and the unexpired lease term on the offer is 90 years or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 90 years.
New build property:
- If the unexpired lease term stated on the offer is 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house) or more - only advise us if the actual lease term is less than 125 years (flat) / 250 years (house)
- For equity share applications - always advise us if the actual lease term is different than reported on the offer
Lease terms such as ground rent and event fees must be reasonable at all times during the term of the lease and adhere to our requirements below. If you’re unsure as to whether the terms of a lease are unreasonable or onerous, please refer the details to us in plain English for Valuer consideration. If the potentially onerous terms are in relation to the ground rent please include the current ground rent figure per annum, how often it will be reviewed and the price structure it will be reviewed against. See the guidance below.
SECOND HAND PROPERTIES
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined):
- Unexpired lease term less than 55 years
- Unexpired lease term less than 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat
- Less than 30 years remaining at the end of the mortgage term
- Ground Rent greater than 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent doubles less than every 20 years (e.g. doubles every 5, 10 or 15 years) - acceptable if doubles every 20 years or more
- Ground Rent is compounded RPI
- Ground Rent review period is less than or equal to 5 years
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Unexpired lease term is 55 to 85 years
- Ground Rent greater than 0.1% and less than or equal to 0.5% of the property value
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to any indices greater than RPI
- Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building*
- Ground Rent review period is greater than 5 and less than 10 years
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial, etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything that appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than 85 years (Minimum 90 years where we are lending more than 85% of the purchase price/valuation on a second hand flat)
- Ground Rent less than or equal to 0.1% of the property value
- Ground Rent review period greater than or equal to 10 years
- Ground Rent escalation less than or equal to RPI
NEW BUILD PROPERTIES (includes office conversions)
Unacceptable - advise Issuing Office (Will be declined)
- Unexpired lease term less than 125 years on a new build flat or less than 250 years on a new build house (does not apply to Shared Ownership)
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
- Any lease which is subject to a Ground Rent (or Annual Rent) being charged which is more than on a peppercorn basis
Refer to Issuing Office (Valuer will consider any impact on valuation figure and marketability):
- Event clauses exist for normal use e.g. changing the carpet, installing a TV aerial etc
- Estate Rent Charges greater than £500 p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Service Charges greater than 1% of property value p/a (please provide details of what the charges cover)
- Anything else appears onerous, unusual or out of the ordinary
Acceptable (no requirement to advise Issuing Office):
- Unexpired lease term greater than or equal to 125 years on a new build flat or greater than or equal to 250 years on a new build house
- A lease subject to a peppercorn Ground Rent (Annual Rent) charges
For the avoidance of doubt, any New Build properties completed but not sold pre-30 June 2022 will only be acceptable if the Lease conforms to the above guidance.
* Where the Ground Rent escalation is linked to the value of the building, please provide the following:
- How is the value of the block/unit currently calculated and if the assessment relates to the block(s), how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned per property?
- The current valuation and Ground Rent for each unit
- What is the mechanism for future valuations of the block and how is the Ground Rent calculated/apportioned?
- What is the right of appeal? And is this a documented process within the lease?
- Who bears the cost of the valuation (and appeal) process?
- Confirmation the review period is not less than twenty years.
Lease Extensions
We require all Lease Extensions to be completed under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 and to meet the above criteria as a minimum. Where you become aware that it does not meet these requirements, please refer to Issuing Office.
Please ensure that all lender enquiries are submitted (with full documentation/requirements) at least 2 weeks prior to exchange to allow sufficient time for review and decisioning.
My conveyancer has informed me that chancel insurance is required on my purchase. What is the level of cover for Twickenham conveyancing?
The right level of chancel indemnity insurance depends on who your lender is. It would differ for example between Yorkshire Building Society and The Mortgage Works. Conveyancing solicitors as opposed to members of the public take out such insurances.
About to purchase apartment in Twickenham. 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 Aldermore 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 Twickenham conveyancing practitioner is on the Aldermore conveyancing panel.
Lloyds have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a house in Twickenham has been agreed to, now what?
Your estate agent will wish to be advised as to your solicitor's details (ensure that the solicitors are on the lender’s approved list). Call up Lloyds or the financial adviser and complete any appropriate forms. Lloyds will appoint a valuer who will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to arrange a slot for the valuation to happen. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes about a fortnight to receive the mortgage offer. Lloyds will issue the offer to you and your property lawyers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Twickenham.
I'm remortgaging my existing property to a BTL mortgage with Nottingham Building Society and intend to use the remaining equity as a deposit on further property. The neighborhood we are talking about is Twickenham. Will your lawyers be able to act for both sets of lenders and tie in the transactions?
Make use of our search tool on this site to check that the solicitors are on the relevant lender panels. On the basis that they are your lawyer should be able to tie up the two transactions but you should have a chat with you conveyancer and communicate your desired outcome and requirements.
My step-father has suggested that I instruct his conveyancing solicitors in Twickenham. Should I use them?
Much as we are happy to recommend a Twickenham conveyancing lawyer the ideal way to select a conveyancing solicitor is to get guidance from friends or family who have actually previously instructed the firm you're considering.
My partner and I are purchasing a studio flat in Twickenham. When we first instructed lawyer, they said that they were on all mainstream bank panels. The financial adviser contacted us just now to say that they are not on the UBS approved list. Should that be true, what should we do? Should we simply pick a new solicitor that is on their approved list or should we pay for separate representation, with UBS selecting their own approved lawyer.
If you are purchasing a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is standard for the buyer’s lawyers to also represent the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a property lawyer has to be on that lender's list of approved lawyers. An application has to be made by the lawyer to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the solicitor has to satisfy. Some mortgage companies now require their panel firms to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyer should call UBS to find out if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on UBS's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Twickenham solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another property lawyer into the mix.