I am progressing with the sale of my apartment in Chipping Barnet and the estate agent has just called to say that the buyers are appointing a new law firm. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only deal with certain lawyers rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Chipping Barnet ?
Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for many years.
Banks justify this action to a rise in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been tightened 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 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. The purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.
In the event thatI was to purchase a straightforward housein Chipping Barnet mortgage fee and dispense with a survey and no local authority searches how much could I expect to to save on my conveyancing in Chipping Barnet?
Any savings you would make will be limited to the disbursement for searches. Your lawyer still got to do everything else - money laundering, liaising with your sellers property lawyer, SDLT return, register the property etc. A marginal saving might be made by not needing to register a charge but it won't be a lot.
I know that there are debates on Chancel Insurance on online forums. Do I need chancel insurance when acquiring a house in Chipping Barnet? or I am told that there is a law dating back centuries that means some homeowners living in a parish church boundary may be liable to contribute towards maintenance to the chancel within the church. Is this applicable for conveyancing in Chipping Barnet?
Unless a prior acquisition of the house took place after 12 October 2013 you may expect lawyers carrying out conveyancing in Chipping Barnet to remain encouraging a chancel search and or insurance against a claim.
I have justdiscovered that Arc property Solicitors have been shut down. They carried out my conveyancing in Chipping Barnet for a purchase of a leasehold flat 18 months ago. How can I be sure that my home is in my name in the name of the former proprietor?
The quickest method to check if the property is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Chipping Barnet conveyancing specialists.
As co-executor for the will of my grandmother I am disposing of a property in Neath but I am based in Chipping Barnet. My solicitor (based 260 miles from merequires that I execute a stat dec ahead of the transaction finalising. Could you suggest a conveyancing lawyer in Chipping Barnet to attest this legal document for me?
strictly speaking you are not likely to be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally or notary public or qualified solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are Chipping Barnet based
We have just discovered that one of the directors of the solicitors undertaking the purchase conveyancing in Chipping Barnet is a relative of the owners that we are purchasing from. Is this allowed?
Provided no conflict arises this is permitted. Where you are needing a home loan then the lender may have a say as many mortgage companies have specific instructions on this. For example for RBS - Direct Line One as of 21/1/2026, the requirements read as follows :