I am one month into the sale of my flat in Ashford and the EA has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are swapping property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the mortgage company will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only engage with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to select to handle their conveyancing in Ashford ?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the last few years big names such as Nationwide, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.
Banks blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices 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 not going to have any sway in the decision.
We were just about to sign contracts for a freehold house in Ashford. We have hit a stumbling block. Our loan offer with Platform Home Loans Ltd runs out on 26/2/2026 but the vendors are suggesting a completion date of 2/3/2026. Can one prolong the loan offer?
The person best placed to address this concern is your solicitors who will hopefully calculate whether they better off negotiating with the lender, owner’s conveyancers, property agents or possibly all three based on what has happend in your house move to date.
Forgive me if this question is silly but I am wet behind the ears as FTB of a garden flat in Ashford. Do I receive the keys to the property on the completion date from my conveyancer? If so, I will find a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Ashford?
On the day of completion you will not be required to go to the conveyancers office in Ashford. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the completion advance to the vendor’s solicitors, and once they have received this, you will be called to pick up the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen early afternoon.
Is there a list of Co-operative panel conveyancers in Ashford on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
No. There is no such directory service on the CML or Building Society Association websites. A small selection of mortgage companies make their panel listings open the public on the web. If you are looking for a Ashford property lawyer on the Co-operative please use our facility.
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Barclays. Ashford conveyancing practitioners were selected. How long does it take for Barclays to send the offer to the conveyancer?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Barclays conducted the valuation? Have you advised Barclays as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Barclays conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.
Am I best advised to instruct a Ashford conveyancing solicitor who is local to the property I am buying? I have an old university friend who can execute the legal work but they are based approximately 350kilometers drive away.
The primary upside of using a local Ashford conveyancing firm is that you can pop in to sign paperwork, present your ID and apply pressure on them if necessary. They will also have local insight which is a benefit. That being said nothing is more important than finding someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If other friends have used your friend and in the main were happy that must trump using an unknown Ashford conveyancing solicitor just because they are Ashford based.
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Ashford from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ashford can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ conveyancers. If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved. Many landlords or managing agents in Ashford levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold home. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ashford. Some Ashford leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors. If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Ashford conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
Following years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Ashford. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to calculate the price payable.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Ashford premises is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 82.93 years.
I am hoping to sell my parking space which is on a separate legal title with the land registry and hope to get 30k, to clear debts. There is a mortgage with Bank of Ireland. Please can you suggest an inexpensive solicitor as the usual £500-600 diminishes the return somewhat. Although I live in Ashford I dont have to instruct a Ashford solicitor.
The purpose of this site is restricted to being a directory service for conveyancers who want to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Bank of Ireland in certain locations such as Ashford . We dont recommend any particular property lawyer.