I am selling my home in Appleton and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are changing their solicitor. The excuse is that the lender will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading lender only deal with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Appleton ?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are content to work with, but in recent years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for more than 15 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms 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 not going to have any sway in the decision.
I have given 8 weeks notice to my existing landlord and have to leave my rented property in Appleton by 12/1/2026. Conveyancing on my purchase is progressing. How realistic is it to complete in 5 weeks as I wish to avoid having to find short term accommodation?
The normal practice is not to give notice for your letting until your lawyer suggests that you should. If you have not already done so, contact to your lawyer and ask them to they apply pressure on the owners side, try to an acceptable time-line that all parties will look towards
I purchased a terraced Georgian property in Appleton. Conveyancing solicitor acted for me and Barclays Direct. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are two entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same address. If a house is not a freehold shouldn't I have been informed?
You should assess the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Appleton and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they buy they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also question the position with your conveyancing lawyer who carried out the work.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £235,500 and identified one near me in Appleton I like with amenity areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 49 years on the lease. There is not much else in Appleton in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error purchasing a short lease?
If you require a home loan the shortness of the lease will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the expected lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of twenty four months you may request that they commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should consult your conveyancing solicitor regarding this matter.
I was advised by numerous property agents in Appleton to locate a solicitor on your site. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to offer your site ahead of alternative conveyancing organisations?
We don’t offer any referral fee for sending work in our direction. We thought it would be too underhand to pay a commission as a client could think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not receiving any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.
We're first time buyers - had an offer accepted, yet the agent informed us that the seller will only go ahead if we instruct their recommended lawyers as they need an ‘expedited deal’. My instinct tells me that we should use a local solicitor used to conveyancing in Appleton
We suspect that the owner is not behind this ultimatum. If they desire ‘a quick sale', turning down a serious purchaser is counter productive. Bypass the agents and go straight to the owners and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are excited to move forward, with finances in place © you have nothing to sell (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you will continue to instruct your preferred Appleton conveyancing lawyers - rather thanthe ones that will provide the estate agent a commission or meet his conveyancing figures pre-set by corporate headquarters.