I am in the throes of switching my current residential mortgage to a BTL Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage. The bank has said that I need a solicitor as part of the process. I got in contact with the same Hessle conveyancing firm who who did the conveyancing when I previously acquired the house. The costs illustration provided of £450 plus VAT has surprised me as its a remortgage than a sale or purchase.

The estimate does seem a little overpriced. If you are content to expend time scrutinising prices you might trim some of the cost by perhaps £100 plus VAT. On the other hand, providing that you were happy with the service the firm provided you mightlive to regret choosing an a cheaper solicitor. Don't forget to be sure that the solicitor can act for Accord Mortgages Ltd. Do utilise our search tool to select a Hessle conveyancing firm on the Accord Mortgages Ltd approved list of lawyers, which can often include conveyancing solicitors in Hessle.

We previously selected conveyancing lawyers with offices in Hessle on the Barclays solicitor panel. They are now charging me a further charge for dealing with the Barclays mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Barclays?

Provided it is contained in their Terms of Engagement or Quote then yes your lawyer may charge a fee for this. This fee is not dictated by Barclays but by your Hessle lawyer. Numerous firms on the Barclays panel will levy an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.

I had a mortgage agreed in principle with Leeds Building Society. Hessle conveyancing solicitors have been appointed. How long does it take for Leeds Building Society to forward the offer to the conveyancer?

There is no definitive answer here. Have Leeds Building Society conducted the valuation? Have you advised Leeds Building Society as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel? Sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued.

I have instructed a Hessle lawyer having checked that they are on the TSB conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

TSB will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually TSB 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. Your solicitor will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Hessle postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with TSB, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Hessle.

Should my solicitor be raising enquiries regarding flooding during the conveyancing in Hessle.

Flooding is a growing risk for solicitors dealing with homes in Hessle. There are those who acquire a house in Hessle, fully aware that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical damage, where a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to obtain a mortgage, adequate insurance cover, or sell the property. There are steps that can be taken as part of the conveyancing process to forewarn the purchaser.

Lawyers are not best placed to offer advice on flood risk, however there are a various searches that can be undertaken by the buyer or by their conveyancers which can give them a better understanding of the risks in Hessle. The conventional set of property information forms supplied to a purchaser’s lawyer (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) includes a standard question of the vendor to find out if the premises has ever been flooded. In the event that the premises has been flooded in past and is not revealed by the seller, then a buyer could issue a compensation claim as a result of such an incorrect answer. A buyer’s conveyancers may also commission an enviro search. This should indicate if there is a recorded flood risk. If so, additional investigations will need to be initiated.

How does conveyancing in Hessle differ for new build properties?

Most buyers of new build property in Hessle approach us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is ready to move into. This is because house builders in Hessle usually acquire the site, 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 conveyancers 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 used to new build conveyancing in Hessle or who has acted in the same development.

I have been advised by a couple of local estate agents in Hessle to select a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial incentive for Estate Agents to promote your site over and above another?

We refuse to make any referral fee for directing people to this site. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission because a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why aren’t I receiving any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.