My husband and I are planning to purchase a house in Dorridge and are in fact using a Dorridge conveyancing practice. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Godiva Mortgages Ltd have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Dorridge conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers to also represent 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 lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Dorridge solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Will my conveyancing lawyers need to check that the building insurance when buying a house in Dorridge. My lender is Platform
Platform have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. As of 25/11/2025, the requirements read as follows :
I am helping my sister sell her house in Dorridge. Will the conveyancer commission the energy assessment or do I organise this?
After the abolition of Home Information Packs, energy performance certificates remained a mandatory part of moving property. An energy assessment needs to be commissioned prior to the property being put on the market. This is not as aspect of the sale process that law firms ordinarily organise. If you are using a Dorridge conveyancing solicitor they may be willing to arrange energy assessments due to their contacts with reputable Dorridge energy assessors
I am purchasing a property in Dorridge. One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Principality 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 Principality your lawyer must follow the formal requirements set out in Section two of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Principality. The CML Handbook contains minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and property lawyers are required to report to Principality where a lease fails to meet these specifications. The provisions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not restricted to Dorridge.
After weeks of negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment in Dorridge. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their property lawyer. I paid an upfront payment of £225. A couple of days later, the conveyancer contacted me embarrassingly acknowledging that they were not on the Barclays conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Barclays panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified as part of conveyancing in Dorridge?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the process of conveyancing in Dorridge. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’
I need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor for my conveyancing in Dorridge. I've stumble across a web site which looks to be the perfect answer If it is possible to get all formalities completed via email that would be ideal. Should I be concerned? What are the potential pitfalls?
As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?
I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Dorridge. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Dorridge ?
The majority of houses in Dorridge are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Dorridge in which case you should be looking for a Dorridge conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.
I purchased a ground floor flat in Dorridge, conveyancing having been completed in 2012. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Dorridge with an extended lease are worth £202,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2082
You have 57 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £28,500 and £33,000 plus costs.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.