My fiance and I are hoping to purchase a property in East Croydon and are in fact using a East Croydon conveyancing firm. Within the past 48 hours our lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Barclays have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our East Croydon conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender. 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitor 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 don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own East Croydon solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
I have 70 years left on my lease and need a lease extension for my apartment in East Croydon. Conveyancing solicitors on the Accord Mortgages panel can deal with such extensions right?
Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are securing a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Accord Mortgages have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 29/12/2025 the requirements read as follows :
I am planning to move house in March. Will my conveyancing solicitor communicate with the removal company on the day of completion. On a separate note, can you suggest a removal company in East Croydon. Conveyancing solicitor was organised before I stumbled across your page.
On the day of completion you can pick up the house keys from your property agent but this can only happen after the previous owners lawyers confirm to the agent that they have the completion monies and the keys can be passed over. You can advise the removal company that they can start moving you in. As a matter of policy we do not recommend a specific removal company but can assist you in choosing a residential property solicitor in East Croydon or a firm with expertise in conveyancing in East Croydon.
We have agreed to purchase a house in East Croydon. An unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Leeds Building Society be concerned?
Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Leeds Building Society your lawyer must comply with the formal instructions outlined in Part 2 of UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook for Leeds Building Society. The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook stipulates minimum conditions for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to Leeds Building Society where a lease fails to meet these requirements. The conditions relate to the installation of panels on properties nationwide and is not limited to East Croydon.
I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by HSBC. Is it usual for HSBC to only issue the offer once my solicitor in East Croydon is approved on their conveyancing panel? HSBC have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their PI Insurance.
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 HSBC to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the HSBC conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
A friend recommended that where I am purchasing in East Croydon I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
This is a search is usually included in the estimate for your East Croydon conveyancing searches. It is a large document of more than thirty pages, listing and detailing significant information about East Croydon around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average Property Price, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data about East Croydon.
4 months have elapsed following my purchase conveyancing in East Croydon took place. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 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 premises 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.
Am I better off to go with a East Croydon conveyancing solicitor based in the vicinity that I am hoping to buy? I have an old university friend who can perform the legal work but her office is 200kilometers drive away.
The benefit of a high street East Croydon conveyancing firm is that you can drop in to sign documents, deliver your ID and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local insight which is a plus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will pull out all the stops for you. If you know people who used your friend and in the main were happy that must outweigh using an unfamiliar East Croydon conveyancing lawyer solely due to them being East Croydon based.