My wife and I are hoping to buy a property in Clifton and have appointed a Clifton conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. HSBC Bank have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our Clifton conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the mortgage company. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyer should contact your mortgage company and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the bank's conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Clifton solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
The Clifton conveyancing solicitors that I appointed last week on my purchase in Clifton have suddenly shut down. I chose them because I needed a firm on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel and my preferred Clifton lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What should be my next steps?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Coventry BS conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors may be able to help.
A friend informed me that in purchasing a property in Clifton there could be a number of restrictions preventing external changes to a property. Is this right?
We are aware of anumerous of properties in Clifton which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to execute external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Clifton should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.
is it true that all Clifton solicitor firms on the Aldermore conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Aldermore conveyancing panel they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of lenders do permit licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be overseen by the CLC.
My offer was accepted on an apartment in Clifton on 26/5/2026, valuation was booked 2 days after, received a clean bill of health. Solicitor appointed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to UBS and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the UBS conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for UBS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the UBS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold element on a house I put an offer in last month in what was supposed to be a simple, chain free conveyancing. Clifton is where the house is located. Is there any advice you can impart?
Flying freeholds in Clifton are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even though you don't necessarily need a conveyancing solicitor in Clifton you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your mortgage company may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Clifton may decide that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold property.
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Clifton for my home move. Is it possible to review a solicitor's complaints history with the legal regulator?
Anyone may find documented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) determinations arising from inquisitions commenced on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. For information about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a solicitors history, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and 09.30 - 18.00 Tuesday. International callers, use +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may recorded call for training reasons.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Clifton. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Clifton who acted for me is not around. Any advice?
First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Clifton conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
Clifton Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying
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It is important to be aware whether changing the roof or some other major work is coming up to be shared by the leasehold owners and could well materially increase the the service costs or result in a specific invoice. Are there any major works anticipated that will increase the service fees? You will want to find out as much as you can regarding the company managing the block as they can either make your life much easier or much more difficult. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to daily issues such as the upkeep of the communal areas. Enquire of other tenants whether they are happy with them. Finally, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and specifically what you get for your money.