I am in the process of selling my house in Angel and the EA has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are changing their law firm. The reason given is that the bank will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a big named lender only engage with specific law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Angel ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
Are all Angel Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Co-operative conveyancing panel?
Some major banks and building societies now make use of the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitor practices wishing to remain on their panels.
I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in June 2007, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, UBS are being a right pain. The Angel solicitor who is on the UBS conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but UBS are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do UBS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that UBS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why UBS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
I had an offer accepted on an apartment in Angel on 28/2/2025, valuation was booked five days after, all came back fine. Solicitor instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Leeds Building Society and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Leeds Building Society to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
It has been 3 months since my purchase conveyancing in Angel took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £160,000. Why the discrepancy?
The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £245,000 and identified one near me in Angel I like with amenity areas and transport links nearby, however it's only got 49 remaining years left on the lease. There is not much else in Angel for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake buying a short lease?
Should you need a mortgage the shortness of the lease will likely be problematic. Reduce the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current owner has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you could ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer regarding this matter.
I'm remortgaging my current house to a buy to let loan with Virgin Money and I will use the rest of the raised equity as a down payment on a second house. The neighborhood we are interested in is Angel. Will your solicitors be able to act for the two mortgage companies and tie in the transactions?
Make use of our comparison tool on this site to be sure that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panels. Having checked that they are your lawyer should be able to connect the two deals but you should have a chat with you conveyancer and make clear your expectations and requirements.
My partner has recommend that I appoint his conveyancing solicitors in Angel. Do I follow his advice?
Much as we are happy to recommend a Angel conveyancing lawyer it’s preferable to choose a conveyancing lawyer is to have recommendations from friends or family who have used the solicitor you're are thinking of instructing.