My partner and I are planning to purchase a house in Fowey and are in fact using a Fowey conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Coventry Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our Fowey conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
Where you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is conventional for the purchasers' lawyers 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 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 solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Fowey solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Can I be sure that the Fowey conveyancing solicitor on the Lloyds panel is any good?
When it comes to conveyancing in Fowey obtaining recommendations is a good start. Before you go ahead, check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also, you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more, will often provide a better service than one advertising the lowest fees. We would always recommend that you speak with the solicitor carrying out your transaction.
My wife and I are spending time viewing flats in Fowey and I am now considering a potential offer. Should I already have a conveyancer in place at this stage? I will be getting a home loan with Clydesdale.
You should start obtaining conveyancing estimates from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on to the estate agent. Given that you are obtaining a mortgage with Clydesdale, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Clydesdale conveyancing panel.
I had an offer accepted on a house in Fowey on 17/12/2025, valuation was booked 3 days after, received a clean bill of health. Conveyancer appointed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Principality and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Principality conveyancing panel. Are Principality entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Principality to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Principality conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Various internet forums that I have frequented warn that are the main reason for stalling in Fowey conveyancing transactions. Is there any truth in this?
The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) has noted the determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the common causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Local searches are not likely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Fowey.
Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Fowey?
Restrictive covenants can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Fowey. 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'm purchasing my first flat in Fowey benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to budge the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of additionals instead. The sale representative advised me not to tell my solicitor about the side-deal as it would jeopardize my mortgage with the bank. Is this normal?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
Given that I am about to spend £400,000 on a garden flat in Fowey I would like to have a conversation with the lawyer about mytransaction ahead of appointing the firm. Can this be arranged?
We could not agree more - we would be pleased to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you liaising with the lawyer who will be conducting your property ownership legalities in Fowey.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is an important person, not a file number. The law firms that we put you in touch with believe that the fees you are calculated and presented to you for residential conveyancing in Fowey should be the figure that you end up paying.