I am acquiring an apartment in West Norwood. My Conveyancer is not listed on the mortgage company approved panel. Is it possible for me to appoint my West Norwood conveyancing solicitor even though they are excluded from the bank list of approved lawyers?
Various options include
- Carry on with your chosen West Norwood solicitor but your lender will undoubtedly use a conveyancer from their approved panel. This will result in additional fees together with potential delay.
- Get a fresh conveyancer to conduct the conveyancing, making sure they are on the mortgage company conveyancing panel.
- Convince your lawyer to attempt to join the mortgage company panel
I am told that my conveyancing solicitors will need to check that the building insurance when buying a house in West Norwood. My lender is Accord Mortgages
Accord Mortgages have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 3/7/2026, the requirements read as follows :
If you had a top tip for selecting a conveyancing solicitor in West Norwood what would it be?
We would encourage you not to go for the cheapest West Norwood conveyancing quote. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to conveyancing solicitors. A cheap quote may mean that the conveyancing solicitor is handling a lot of jobs at one time and you won’t get the quality of service and the attention that you need. It is, however, wise to use a conveyancer who has a fixed fee on a no sale, no fee basis. This way, you go into the conveyancing with your eyes wide open.
I am assisting my niece sell her flat in West Norwood. Does the solicitor commission an energy assessment or it is for the seller to coordinate?
After the demise of Home Information Packs, energy performance certificates was retained a mandatory element of moving house. An energy assessment must be to hand in advance of the property being put on the market. It is not a task that solicitors ordinarily arrange. Where you are instructing a West Norwood conveyancing solicitor they might help arrange energy performance certificates due to their relationships with reputable local providers
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Clydesdale. West Norwood conveyancing lawyers were instructed. How long does it take for Clydesdale to issue the offer to the conveyancer?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Clydesdale done the survey? Have you advised 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.
What can a local search reveal about the house we're purchasing in West Norwood?
West Norwood conveyancing often starts with the applying for local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for instance Searchflow The local search plays a central part in many a West Norwood conveyancing purchase; as long as you don’t want any unpleasant once you have moved into your property. The search will provide data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject sections.
I have recentlybeen informed that Wolstenholmes have closed. They carried out my conveyancing in West Norwood for a purchase of a freehold house 9 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is registered correctly in the name of the former proprietor?
The quickest way to see if the property is registered to you, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of West Norwood conveyancing specialists.
I only have Seventy years remaining on my lease in West Norwood. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?
If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing West Norwood.
After months of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in West Norwood. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a West Norwood conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a West Norwood flat is 172 Knollys Road in February 2012. On 13 September 2011 District Judge Guinan made a vesting order and the proceedings were transferred to the tribunal for the purpose of assessing the premium which was subsequently calculated to be £24,003 This case was in relation to 4 flats. The unexpired term was 98.28 for 3 flats other than the garden flat which had 66.04 years remaining.