I am progressing with the sale of my flat in Chapel Allerton and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the buyers are changing their conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only work with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to appoint for their conveyancing in Chapel Allerton ?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms that can act for them, 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 acted for them for more than 15 years.
Banks justify this action to a rise in fraud as the reason for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say 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. 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 buyers are unlikely to have any impact on this.
We have agreed to purchase a house in Chapel Allerton. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. RBS have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with RBS your lawyer must check the conveyancing requirements set out in Section 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for RBS. The CML Handbook includes minimum provisions for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to RBS where a lease fails to meet these specifications. The specifications relate to the installation of panels on properties countrywide and is not restricted to Chapel Allerton.
I'm at the point of looking at houses in Chapel Allerton and I am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a solicitor appointed at this point? I am planning to take a home loan with Virgin Money.
You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and forward their contact information on to the estate agent. As you are taking out a mortgage with Virgin Money, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel.
My offer was accepted on an apartment in Chapel Allerton on 19/3/2026, valuation was booked 3 days later, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Yorkshire BS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Yorkshire BS 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 Yorkshire BS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
My wife and I are close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our property in Chapel Allerton and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was built land that was not decontaminated. A local conveyancer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers instructed a web based conveyancing outfit rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Chapel Allerton. We have lived in Chapel Allerton for 4 years we know of no issue. Should we get in touch with our local Authority to seek clarification need.
It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm currently acting for you. What do they say? You should check with your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same ailment)
It has been 3 months following my purchase conveyancing in Chapel Allerton took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £180,000. 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 residence 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.
Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Chapel Allerton. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Set out below are examples of a selection of leasehold new build enquiries that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Chapel Allerton
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Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore.
I opted to have a survey done on a property in Chapel Allerton in advance of instructing lawyers. I have been advised that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. Our surveyor has said that some mortgage companies tend refuse to give a loan on such a home.
It depends who your proposed lender is. Santander has different requirements from Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can investigate further via the appropriate lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are accustomed to dealing with flying freeholds in Chapel Allerton. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.